Empire Beneficiary
by Spartan-IV
Summary: For the Combine occupying Earth, they are on their own. But although they are alone their numbers and tactics have kept the resistance from annihilating them all. Now it comes down to a final confrontation, where old enemies and new allies emerge.
1. Search Initiated

**Alright here's the first chapter of Empire Beneficiary.**

* * *

"Planet G6-42 in quadrant two, galaxy seven is no longer under our control. Our link has been severed, we are at risk of losing the entire planet."

The top Advisors were clustered at the Central Citadel at their homeworld of Vericon, a planet that was in another galaxy from Earth. The central citadel dominated the entire landscape of the completely industrialized planet, stretching as far as 12,000 kilometres into the atmosphere.

Vericon's once natural beauty had been spoiled once the Advisors had developed machinery capable of exploiting a planet of its resources. After that, Vericon had been turned into a mechanized hub of activity. The surface had been left so badly scarred that the only way for the Advisors to live was to construct towering structures. They had started a new life, in the sky.

While their machinery had literally destroyed most of their planet, it had provided them with advanced technology. Using that as a weapon, the Advisors began conquering other worlds, depleting them of their resources. The resources would then be used for the conquest of other worlds. It hadn't taken long for the Advisors to form a vast galactic empire, enslaving others on conquered worlds and transferring them to wherever they were most needed.

A group of such servants were working in the central citadel, performing their strenuous labour. The building's masters conversed to one another through telepathy in the Central Chamber. The room was a large circular chasm, with holographic display panels giving constant readings on the status of every operation, everything from power levels in the central citadel to updates on the condition of every planet under Combine control.

The enormous life-forms occupying the room closely resembled large slugs. They featured a bloated, circular body and light green skin. Grav- thrusters mounted on their gray suits allowed them to hover at the top of the chamber as they continued conversing.

"Rumours have begun to spread; several battalions already suspect that our strength is failing. We must re-occupy the planet."

"Perhaps your attention has drifted," A second Advisor said with an exasperation that managed to be heard even through telepathy. "We cannot reinforce the local garrison. The portal failed to form, they are on their own."

"That is precisely the problem." A loud voice boomed into the minds of the others. A colossal Advisor emerged from the dark areas of the room, the life-form was ancient for its kind. The creature had seen a millennia pass in its lifetime, including the rise of the Combine Empire.

This Advisor was easily five times larger than its normal fully-grown counterparts. It was the Alpha of its kin, and the ruler of the Empire.

"The assistance of our contact would allow us to re-occupy G6-42."

"With respect Alpha, I do not believe that such a step is necessary. In the grand perspective, the loss of the planet is insignificant compared to the expansion of the Empire," another Advisor conversed through telepathy.

"True, but this incident is already close to sparking revolt among the other planets. I will not let this empire, which has stood for over a hundred years, collapse because of inferior species. We will reoccupy the planet. Now!" The Alpha's telepathic voice was loud enough to make the other Advisors submit to his will.

"None of you are old enough to remember," The Alpha continued, "but there was a time when our species was enslaved to another. I will not let history repeat itself, the empire must be kept intact; if we are to remain strong."

"Unfortunately our contact has disappeared, his location is unknown."

"Then we will have to find him." The Alpha responded, "Probe the continuum for the entity, I will not let this opportunity pass by."

"By your will Alpha, but it will take time" the remaining Advisors responded.

**Twelve years later**

"Always aim for the centre of mass!" Barney barked, straining to be heard above the dozen or more pulse rifles. Rebel recruits adjusted their aim on the small cardboard cut-outs before firing again.

With a few battalions worth of Combine still occupying the planet, military service had become a mandatory requirement for between ten and fifty. To that end, Barney and a few others had been selected to train a new generation of troops. Makeshift training facilities had been haphazardly constructed out of old warehouses. Weapons training, physical endurance, and melee combat were prime focuses in Barney's new training program.

Since no citizen, of those still alive, had had any military training, Barney had been forced to rely on his own training as a security guard, as well as tricks he had learned through personal combat experience, to create an entirely new program.

"Cease fire!" Barney ordered with a wave of his hand.

The young recruits obeyed instantly, their fingers leaving the trigger of their rifles. They turned to face Barney simultaneously, the butt of their rifles slamming on the ground as their hands gripped the barrel of their weapons. "Sir!" The recruits shouted in unison.

Barney couldn't help but smile as he ran a hand through his slightly grey streaked hair. They'd come a long way in the two years since they'd started. "Training is over for today recruits. Dismissed."

The young trainees, each one only twelve years old, marched out of the brightly illuminated warehouse and toward the nearby residential district. Barney was about to head back home himself when a familiar sight flickered in his peripheral vision, "Kate," Barney called out to the mass of exiting recruits, "Come here."

A twelve year old girl with short cut brown hair and green eyes marched away from the others toward Barney, her downcast eyes giving away the fact that she knew what this was about. "What are you doing here?" Barney asked when she was only three feet away.

"I'm training," she simply stated.

"I'm aware." Barney replied as he circled around her, "I'm also aware that a certain mother of yours has specifically instructed me that you are not to be trained, correct?"

"Correct."

"So let me ask you once more, why are you here?"

"I want to fight the Combine, and defend my people."

"I see." Barney paused before he looked down at her, "take me to your father."

"Why?" Kate asked, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

"Do friends need excuses to see one another?" Barney asked evasively.

"Normal friends, no. You, yes."

"You take after your mother for too many things," Barney said with a small smile, "C'mon."

"How did you know I was here?"

"Didn't your mother give you her cube necklace when you were eight?"

"Yes," Kate said with genuine puzzlement, "But you haven't answered my question."

"Haven't I?"

Kate led Barney toward the waiting residential district, the cluster of salvaged one story homes was a temporary base of operations.. But in the twelve years since the destruction of the Borealis, this "temporary" refuge had become the central hub of all outgoing rebel strike teams. The base was officially designated as Carsile Arsenal, but its codename was 'Eagle Point.'

The layout was designed so that a reinforced concrete bunker sat in the middle. Around the U-shaped bunker were clusters of houses, each one inhabited by a soldier's family. The fifty kilometre square shaped settlement was enclosed by a large ten metre tall steel wall, held in place by various support beams. Watchtowers were placed every two hundred feet, small square shaped buildings were built underneath the towers on the inside of the wall. The structures garrisoned up to fifty rebels at a time, allowing for a quick reaction force in the event of a large assault.

Large blast doors started to open when Barney and Kate were two hundred metres away, steam could be seen escaping from large vents as hydraulic pumps forced the heavy doors apart. A squad of rebels stood outside the gate with another platoon up on the wall above. Their weapons were lowered but the weapons were held in their hands, ready to fire without hesitation. Barney handed over his ID card when prompted without complaint. A rebel took the card and swiped it through a nearby keypad, waiting as the system processed the information

Barney had no problems with all the extra security, particularly since Combine stealth troops had penetrated this base's defences four years ago. Only the quick response forces had managed to put the platoon of camouflaged troops down before they sabotaged any critical systems.

That incident had sparked plans for increased security, ranging from more garrisoned troops, to ID systems, to the steel wall; all of which had taken nearly four years to complete. Barney considered the wall to be a marvel of engineering, mainly because it had taken a number of months to find the material necessary to create steel and even longer to move the heavy metallic frames into a wall configuration. But although it was a great achievement, it was also a reminder to everyone that the Combine still occupied this planet. The 'mopping up' action had taken twelve years already and it showed no signs of ending anytime soon.

"Identity confirmed, sir." The rebel said as he handed Barney's ID back with a quick salute.

Barney nodded with a small grin; the rebels garrisoned at Carsile Arsenal were veterans of more than twenty engagements. They were the elite strike teams of the resistance and the only ones who behaved like trained military soldiers, in addition to Barney's trainees.

"So where's your father?" Barney asked Kate as the two continued moving into Carsile.

"Over at the lab most likely," she responded.

It took fifteen minutes of walking before the lab was in sight. The building was positioned next to the bunker, it featured a hardened steel exterior with an even tougher blast door entrance. It looked small on the outside, only about the size of a large shed. But that was because the rest of the structure was excavated underground. Doctors Kliener and Magnusson had designed the place from scratch, but even though they had divided up the work Magnusson considered the structure to be his.

As Barney and Kate passed through an array of scanners, everything from finger-print to retina, Barney remembered that this deceivingly small looking structure had taken nearly as long to build as the steel wall. Magnusson had once remarked that his lab was the only thing that prevented the rebels from becoming a bunch of militaristic drones, a remark that Barney had countered by telling Magnusson that their 'army of drones' were the only thing preventing the Combine from assaulting his lab.

A lift cart continued to carry its two occupants into the depths below, the only source of illumination being bright floodlights. After five minutes of listening to the constant sound of a turbine generator Barney was instantly attracted to the sounds of distant conversation. He strained his ears to pick up the words:

"I still think it should be calibrated with a rotating modulation."

"Proposing the same flawed strategy over and over won't change my position Kliener." A voice that could only belong to Magnusson spoke with exasperation.

"You haven't even looked at my calculations," Kliener responded with equal exasperation.

"I don't need to Kliener, I know a flawed idea when I hear one."

Kliener's response was cut off when the lift cart came to a grinding halt some thirty metres away from the pair of bickering scientists. "Hey doc," Barney called out his familiar greeting. As he and Kate moved closer Barney looked at Issac Kliener, he'd still never gotten used to the fact that Kliener looked almost the same as he did twelve years ago. The exceptions being a few more lines around his wrinkled face and a new prescription to counter his deteriorating vision.

"Do you know where my Dad is?" Kate asked Kliener somewhat abruptly.

"I believe he's in Sector H," Kliener responded, apparently unfazed by the sudden query.

"I asked to speak with her father," Barney said by way of explanation.

"I see," Kliener said before turning towards Kate, "What have you done now Kate?"

"I've just been my usual self."

"O Fie, I'd hate to think what you've been up to," Kliener cried, referring to her knack for causing trouble.

"I'm shocked that you'd even consider such a thing, doc."

"I'm sure you are," Kliener responded with a laugh before returning to his work.

Barney bade goodbye to Issac before following Kate as she led him toward Sector H. If Barney didn't still remember taking the lift cart down here he could have sworn that the lab was built on the surface. Tile floors, fluorescent lighting, and concrete reinforced walls made the place feel as though it were built right next to the bunker above. Of course, the absence of windows reminded people exactly where they were.

The lab was mainly manned by those who were either too old or too badly injured to fight the Combine in the field. Though there were a few exceptions to this rule, some people would demonstrate skills that were essential to scientific advancement and they would be transferred to a designated field with the lab. Such was the case with the person Barney planned on meeting.

Kate led the way through a maze of blast doors and numerous security barriers, so much so that by the time Barney got to the door outside Sector H, he wasn't in a very good mood.

After Kate slammed her hand down on a finger-print scanner, with more force than necessary, the metallic barrier blockading entrance to their destination raised up into the ceiling above. Barney noticed a black label pasted to the wall on his right. It read:

_Sector H: Prototype Weapons Design and Testing _

Barney glanced around the inside of Sector H, it featured a collection of firing ranges where veteran rebels test-fired the new weapons at bulls eye symbols. A wide range of benches were placed near firing ranges, each one filled with prototype weapons ready for testing. The opposite side of the room was filled with workbenches, each one was occupied by someone assembling new prototypes, or making adjustment on existing ones.

"Dad!" Kate almost yelled as she ran toward a man in a traditional white lab coat who was giving orders to a few people who were adjusting weapons.

Those orders almost drowned in his throat when his daughter slammed into his side with enough force to make him sway in place while he tried to regain his balance. "Try giving me more warning next time Kate," he said while he pried Kate from his body and gave her a proper hug.

Barney walked over to Kate's father and shook his friend's already outstretched hand, "Good to see you Gordon." The only difference in Gordon's appearance was that he had shaved off his moustache, and that his regular outfit seemed to be the lab-coat rather than an HEV suit.

"Barney, I haven't seen you in a few weeks," Gordon responded.

"That's probably because you're either working down here, deployed against the Combine, or you're spending time with your family. Speaking of which how is Alyx anyway?"

"She's fine, that's about as much as anyone can say these days." Gordon replied, his thoughts drifting to the Combine.

"Don't worry about the Combine, we've liberated enough people. Their territory is continuing to shrink, it won't be long before everything is ours again."

There was a short pause before Gordon said "Why are you here anyway Barney? I get the feeling that this isn't just a social visit."

"Well, your daughter was at training today." Barney said matter-of-factly.

"So?"

Barney's mouth almost fell open in shock, "I was under the impression that Alyx didn't want Kate to be training."

"True, Alyx doesn't. But I do."

At this point both Kate and Barney were completely shocked. Kate was the only one brave enough to break the lingering silence, "You do?"

Gordon grinned at his daughter before he said, "Yes, I do. The Combine may have lost most of the major cities but they still have more than enough forces to deal with us. Everybody is needed, everyone."

Barney raised an eyebrow at his old friend, "I always thought it would be the other way around."

Gordon laughed and said, "So did I Barney, so did I."

* * *

Advisor K-34 made its way toward the Central Chamber of the Alpha, it had been twelve years since he had ordered a search for the Eldritch entity. In that time, local insurrections had cropped up on more than thirty planets. All of them had been quelled but the incidents had served to highly agitate the Alpha.

K-34 was heading to the Alpha with the location of the Eldritch entity, information that he hoped would calm the Alpha down. At least enough where he would stop sending out angry vibes through telepathy.

34 had barley just ascended to the Central Chamber when a loud voce boomed inside his head, "Why are you disturbing me?!"

"I bring you news of the entity's location, Alpha."

"Indeed…..the translocator coordinates?"

"Universe two, galaxy three, quadrant two, sector five, at 18 mark 27 mark 6."

"You may go."

"At your command, Alpha," 34 responded telepathically before descending back to its assigned position.

The Alpha keyed in the coordinates and then proceeded toward an immense teleportation system. It was the pride and joy of the Combine Empire, the translocator. The device had been designed with the ability to teleport life-forms onto different galaxies and even entirely different universes.

Of course, the catch was that it was a one-way trip, once the translocation was complete there was no way of coming back. The difference this time was that the entity's abilities would allow the Alpha to be transported back to Vericon.

Rings of light engulfed the Alpha's massive bulk, before his molecules were transmitted toward a new location. The Alpha was slightly startled to look around and see nothing but a black void, the only exception being a suited figure walking toward him.

"What are…..you…doing here." The entity spoke with nothing short of amused curiosity.

"We need your help." The Alpha stated through a telepathic link.

* * *

**So what did you think? **

**I tried to keep the identity of Kate's father a mystery for a little while, but I'm guessing that most, if not all, of you figured out that it was Gordon as soon as I described Kate.**


	2. New Tactics

**Just finished this chapter, hope its as good as the last.**

**Special Thanks to Vypress, Vertigo Pilot, and Still Bullet for your reviews, they always help spur me on to start writing.**

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"I have come to ask for your assistance in reoccupying Earth," The Alpha stated as he still felt the uncomfortable sense that he was in a void. With the exception of the suited figure in front of him, there was nothing else to look at.

"I have…been….stripped of my…power. I….cannot help you," The G-Man responded with his characteristic sneer, "Even _if_ I wanted to."

"State your demands," The Alpha regrettably requested.

The G-Man gave a slight smile as he said, "I have only two requests: The freedom of my kin from the Viscount and," The G-Man paused, letting the lingering silence fill the void until the Alpha couldn't resist it anymore.

"And what," his voice boomed.

"Your…service."

"Service?!" The Alpha's slug-like face seemed to contort with fury, "We do not bow down to anyone."

"Don't you?" The G-Man taunted as turned to face the Alpha, "You were… enslaved….once before."

"Once, but never again, the strong will never yield to the weak."

"I agree," The G-Man said, a smile still resting on his face.

It only took the Alpha a few moments to realize what the G-Man meant by that but as soon as he figured it out he shouted, "We are not weak!"

"You do possess……unique …abilities, but your power is still….subservient…to our own."

"That condition is unacceptable!"

"As you…wish, but I have…already analyzed….all possible scenarios. Without….help…you will lose Earth." The G-Man's grim smile was plastered back on his face as he continued, "And if you lose Earth, the…lesser species will…revolt. You will…lose everything. Choose wisely."

There was a two minute period of silence as the Alpha thought about the predicament. The last Alpha had always taught him that a leader's greatest weakness was their inability to correct an error, all for the sake of pride. If the choice was between certain destruction or a future of enslavement that may someday yield a means of freedom, the choice was obvious. "I accept your demands."

"Excellent," The G-Mans replied with all the immense satisfaction his gravely voice would allow him to project.

The next thing the Alpha knew both of them were back at the Central Chamber on Vericon. "I thought you'd been stripped of your power?"

"I….thought so too, your…entrance…into the void seems to have….counteracted it, to a certain…..degree."

"I would appreciate your assistance in securing what you promised," The Alpha suddenly stated.

"As you wish," The G-Man stated in a manner that clearly indicated the issue wasn't his priority at the moment.

* * *

"So how's the weapon testing going?" Barney asked as he looked at the assortment of guns laid out on nearby worktops.

"Pretty good, we're close to completion of a new sniper and assault rifle." Gordon said as he moved toward one of the many decommissioned weapons laid out on the benches. He picked up a sniper rifle and talked about its capabilities while Barney looked at the new rifle.

The barrel was at least 2 metres long, with an oracle scope mounted on top. Gordon gave the weapon to Barney as he continued, "The oracle scope can zoom in for up to 15x magnification. The rifle's magazine can hold fifteen rounds of newly designed ammunition. The rounds are highly devastating pulse rounds," Gordon said as he held up a small round, "The devices are filled with miniature energy bombs. The bombs release as soon as they hit a target, completely vaporizing any organic tissue it encounters. The rifle's highly charged gas operated system allows for a maximum firing range of 2,000 metres."

"Barney grinned at the capabilities. "Impressive," he said as he shouldered the weapon and looked through the oracle scope.

"It took us a long time to figure out how to build a stable containment field for the miniature bombs, but other than that it wasn't very hard." Gordon said with a fair degree of modesty. Moving toward an experimental assault rifle, Gordon picked up the weapon, loaded a fresh clip, and clacked the gun bolt into place in a flash. He looked at Barney and said, "This is still in the early stages, but it's showing great promise. We designed this rifle to be a variant of the Combine pulse-rifle; it's a self-reloading, fully automatic assault rifle. It fires 5.56mm titanium built bullet casings, allowing the bullets to easily pierce through body armour and light armour plating."

Barney examined the weapon when Gordon handed it to him. It was a black rifle featuring a wide muzzle along with a tac-light underneath. A forty round magazine was built next to two triggers, something Barney found strange. "Why are there two triggers?"

Gordon looked as though he'd been waiting for Barney to ask that very question, "The primary trigger fires the titanium cased bullets but the secondary fires pulse bombs. Of course, we do have a limited supply of those at the moment so I would recommend using it only when it's absolutely necessary."

"So, like being charged by a hunter." Barney said with a grin.

"Don't remind me."

"Can I test them out?" Barney asked with a longful glance at the rifle he just gave back to Gordon.

Gordon's answer was cut off by alarm klaxons blaring through the lab. The sound of the alarms was quickly followed by a burst of COM traffic.

"White Sand to Eagle Point—" parts of the transmission were garbled with static, "We are under attack………significant opposition. We may have to……..require assistance."

"This is Eagle Point to White Sands, are you receiving?" Barney asked as he keyed on his radio.

"Damn it! White Sands to Eagle Point, come in! We…..help." The sounds of gun-fire echoed in the background, mixed with the cries of wounded soldiers, both Combine and Human. "They're getting….door." Gun-fire echoed in the background before the operator screamed into the channel, leaving static in his place.

Barney and Gordon casted worried glances at each other before Barney switched to an open channel that would carry throughout the entire base, "This is Calhoun, all quick response teams go to condition level four, threat level red. This is not a drill. I repeat, all quick response teams go to condition level four, threat level red."

"Gordon, if your weapons could spare you a moment, I think the Combine have over-stayed their welcome. Maybe you could help me out with this one."

"I wouldn't miss it," Gordon responded with a snarl at the thought of what the Combine had done to the rebels at White Sands.

Gordon led Barney toward a lift that provided direct access to the bunker above. The small square shaped cart was only big enough for two people, something Gordon used to his advantage when he noticed that Kate was still following them. "Kate, I need you to stay down here."

"But I want to fight!" She protested with a desperate edge in her voice.

"I know you do Kate, but you haven't completed your training. Untill you do, I need you to stay out of this. Can you do that for me?"

Kate reluctantly nodded, some part of her sensed the protective tone Gordon was using.

Gordon gave his a daughter a quick hug before boarding the lift with Barney, ascending toward the bunker above.

The lift came to a halt in the bunker's control room, vigilant rebel guards relaxed their guard when they indentified the newcomers as friendlies.

Gordon looked at the Control Room, having to squint his eyes to get a clear picture. The room was barley illuminated by a small chain of red lights, but from what Gordon could tell, there were a cluster of monitors and consoles lined up at the far wall. The monitors were linked to the surveillance system around Carsile, while the consoles showed the power levels and the integrity of base security.

"Report!" Barney barked as he marched toward the nearest group of rebels.

"The base is on lockdown and all garrisoned forces are on station. Squad Seven is moving in to assist White Sands, sir." A rebel reported as he snapped to attention.

"Who's in command of squad seven?"

"Patterson, sir."

"Alright, alert the infirmary to prepare for casualties. Some of the people at White Sands might still be alive."

"On it, sir."

"Trooper," Gordon called to a soldier guarding the entrance to the control room doors, "Do you know where my HEV suit is?"

"It's kept in storage locker three Freeman."

"Thanks," Gordon said before he opened the doors to the Control Room and sprinted down the concrete hardened walls to his destination.

"We're getting an uplink from Patterson's HUD," a control worker reported, "I'm putting it on monitor one."

The biggest screen in the control room changed from camera one's perspective, to the scene of rebels moving around the grassy plains outside. Patterson signalled for a squad member to take point with a quick up and down motion of his hand. The appointed member nodded as he slowly moved in a crouch position, his shouldered pulse-rifle held at the ready. As soon as he continued marching, the rest of the squad fell into line, with Patterson moving right behind his chosen point man.

It took 20 minutes before the squad could see a small cement framed bungalow in front of them. Patterson signalled for everyone to halt by holding up his fist. He looked at half of his squad, pointed towards both of his eyes, then made a circling motion with his index finger; a signal to watch the perimeter.

Patterson and three others moved toward White Sands while the rest of his squad fanned out to make a loose diamond formation around the outpost.

Barney watched on the viewscreen as Patterson and his escort moved toward the front door. Patterson placed a small charge on the door, entering a five second countdown before he shouted, "Clear!"

The charge blew the door off its hinges instantly, creating a thin smoke cloud that Patterson's squad quickly stormed through. Tac-lights illuminated the darkened sections of the building instantly, allowing squad seven to see the corpses of fellow rebels, along with dead Combine soldiers.

Patterson moved toward a wounded rebel, who was leaning against the wall. Numerous bullet holes were visible in his chest, leaving thick drops of blood to seep from his wounds. The rebel's eyes widened as Patterson approached, "You…you have…..got…. to leave," the trooper said, trying to annunciate his words despite the fact that he knew that he was near death.

"Not until we've got you patched up," Patterson replied as he reached for a med-kit from his pack.

The wounded soldier stopped him as he continued, "No, you've…got…to go. They….planted…a……." The rebel stopped as he felt himself slipping from the mortal plane.

Patterson shook the trooper's arm, "What did they plant?"

The rebel casted a glance in Patterson's direction and whispered his last word, "bomb.'

Patterson felt fear knife through his system at the very thought of a Combine trap. His training instincts took over, making him shout for the other three to leave the house. Squad seven slung their rifles as they sprinted to safety, Patterson had just stepped through the doorway when White Sands erupted in a blue flare from a detonating pulse charge. The chain reactive pulse bombs vaporized everything within twenty metres of the house.

* * *

**So does this chapter raise the bar a little in terms of chapter quality? Or does it? **

**Oh and just so you know, I officially start my basic training on July 1st. So technically I really only have eight days left of summer vacation. Kinda sucks.**

**Point being, that more than likely I will only have those eight days to work on this fic. So I'm getting as much done as I can.**


	3. Command Decision

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A little shorter than I would have preferred but I'm sure you'll find it just as good.

**Special thanks to Sill Bullet for your fantastic review, I'm not sure I would have gotten this done as quickly as I did if I didn't have a review like yours to look at for inspiration. **

* * *

Barney watched the monitor in horror as six bio-signs from squad seven disappeared from view, while the other two were highly erratic. He turned to the closest rebel and said, "Dispatch division three, get those two back."

The rebel stood frozen in place, his eyes glued onto the black scorch spot that had replaced what had once been a solidly constructed concrete outpost. Barney stepped in front of the rebel's view, "On the double soldier!"

The rebel tore his eyes away from the screen and shouted, "Right away!"

* * *

A rebel drill instructor barked orders to his troops in barracks, "This is a rescue operation squad seven is down, bring those med-kits. Move! Move! Move!"

Fifty soldiers moved with all the speed and precision that twelve years of training and warfare could provide. Assault rifles were held in their hands as they sprinted toward what used to be White Sands. Thirty soldiers broke off formation in an attempt to secure the perimeter from more surprise attacks. The remaining twenty moved on the site, spreading themselves out into a loose grid.

Thick black smoke funnelled into the air, marking the spot where the rebel outpost had once stood. Everything within twenty metres of the detonation point ceased to exist, only a dark circle remained from what had once been thriving vegetation. The only other life-forms were two survivors of squad seven that had been blown some fifteen metres from where they had been standing, just enough to throw them clear of the vaporization zone.

The others moved toward their companions, but stopped when another rebel screamed into his radio, "Contacts, we've got contacts!"

Pulse-fire echoed throughout the area not long after the transmission. Combine shock troops moved in from the north, their traditional surprise tactics were enough to catch several rebels off guard.

Rebels knew shock troops all to well; they had been implemented to the Combine military just two years after the Borealis' destruction. Captured rebels selected for the shock troop procedure had to undergo cybernetic and memory procedures, which was what most human were forced to endure in order to become a drone for the Combine. The difference for the shock troops was that a large portion of their minds were kept intact, giving them the ability to think independently to a certain degree. The result was a more efficient soldier, one who lived for nothing other than to engage and destroy enemy combatants.

Shock troops were also the only soldiers within the Combine's ranks to wear uniforms that duplicated the colours of the environment that they were in. The suit design was a variation of that worn by the Combine assassin. Sensors built into the uniforms would analyze the pattern of the environment and project the colours that ensured a best match. The only way to track the shock troops would be to fire at the sights of muzzle flashes.

Veteran rebels lobbed grenades toward the enemy troops, knowing that they were the best way to deal with an enemy you could barley see. Ten grenades arced into the air, landing on the ground before exploding with a loud bang. Shrapnel knifed through the air within the blast radius, exploding outward to pierce through anything in its path. A muffled scream let the rebels know that where one of the shock troops were. A sustained burst from a veteran's rifle overloaded the target's camouflage generator, letting a soldier seemingly materialize out of thin air.

Discharging bullets tore through the golden coloured goggled helmet of the shock trooper, shattering the target's skull in an instant. Rebel soldiers tightened their formation as they let loose another volley of grenades. Dirt was thrown into the air by the explosion, coating the uniforms of unsuspecting shock troops, allowing the rebels to target the aggressors.

Two more shock troops were added to the body count as kneeling rebels kept up a steady rate of fire. The Combine countered with short, controlled bursts of fire from their pulse-rifles. The rebels were at a severe disadvantage in this skirmish, the open terrain provided no means of cover, leaving division three vulnerable to the camouflaged Combine.

"Everyone, fan out!" The division commander barked from the front-lines, he was about to give an order to another rebel when shock troop fire took out an entire file of rebels. The commander turned to the closest rebel and shouted, "Tony, get the wounded back to base! We'll cover you!"

"Understood commander," Tony replied as he shouldered his pulse-rifle and motioned for three others to follow him.

The four rebels moved in to grab their wounded comrades, five more fell into escort positions around the carriers as they sprinted back to camp. Combine shock troops fired off a burst in their direction, their accuracy claimed the lives of two rebels. Pulse rounds left deep gashes in their bodies, providing a means of escape for the blood in their bodies. Red seemed to be a new colour on the grassy plains as the two sides continued to exchange fire.

Just when Tony was starting to think that they were out of range from the shock trooper squads, pulse-fire erupted from straight ahead. Tony watched three more of his group fall to the ground, their cries for help caused a couple of soldiers to come to their aid.

Accurate enemy fire ensured that the wounded received no assistance. Tony and the surviving two were forced to drop the two soldiers from squad seven and return fire. Tony had just barley shouldered his rifle when a burst of pulse fire tore through his left arm. He dropped his weapon with a scream, the feeling of a being stabbed with a hot knife consumed every thought of his mind.

Anger burned through the surviving rebels like a raging inferno, even strict military discipline couldn't keep them calm when their friends were either dead, or screaming in pain. The surviving members of division three, the soldiers who had survived more than twenty engagements, went berserk.

Those who could still handle a fire-arm shouted out war-cries that screamed for the blood of Combine as they fired their weapons wildly. Assault rifle and pistol fire drowned out the sounds of dying rebels. They were quickly replaced by Combine screams, giving the crazed troops the slightest satisfaction of vengeance.

The shock troops were only stunned for a few seconds, returning fire attacked rebels from every possible angle, leaving those hit to writhe around in pain.

* * *

Barney's eyes were glued to the monitor displaying the life-signs of what was left of division three. Fifteen bio-signs were erratic but stable for the most part. But out of a division of fifty soldiers, only ten were still in perfect health. And even they didn't look as if they were going to last for long.

"Prepare two platoons for insurgency, we're going to—"

"Sir, we've got outposts being attacked across the board. Radio contacts are reporting Combine incursions."

Barney shifted his attention between the rebel who had just spoken to him and the life-signs of division three. If every outpost around the base was being attacked, Barney knew that there weren't enough troops garrisoned at Carsile to defend both the outposts and the stragglers of division three. It was a choice between sending out a rescue team to save twenty-five lives, or defending the outposts around Carsile which were of prime strategic value. It was one of the burdens of command, but Barney couldn't ignore the consequences.

Turning to the communication officer Barney said, "Order all soldiers to reinforce the outpost sentries."

"Understood."

Barney noticed that Gordon stood by his side, his very posture indicating that he was ready to avenge the rebels who had fallen. His new HEV suit had been outfitted with targeting assistance, ammo readout, and a newly encrypted COM system.

Barney turned to Gordon and motioned for him to follow him out of the bunker. As Gordon stepped through the blast doors Barney took one last glance at the life-signs of division three and whispered, "I'm sorry."

* * *

**It took me forever to figure out where I was going to go with this chapter. For some reasoin I found that I had ideas for every chapter except this one, so it took me a while to map this one out.**

**Plus the recruiting sergeant for the Cameroon Highlanders told me that my BMQ training starts on July 7th. So I have a little more time to work on this. **

**I'll be extremely happy if anyone reviews. Please do it, they help me write faster... **


	4. Investigation

**Sorry it took so long to update but I had to finish something else.**

**Thanks for all the reviews Vypress, VertigoPilot, Sgt Andy McNab, and Still Bullet. I'm pretty sure I might not have been able to finish this chapter if I didn't have reviews like yours to keep me going! **

**And Still Bullet, I sent a reply back to you.**

* * *

Gordon and Barney moved through Eagle Point, avoiding passing soldiers as they sprinted out of the base and toward Outpost Prax, an outpost that regularly reported on Combine activity. Prax was a good ten minute walk from here, but as Barney and Gordon sprinted through the grassy plains, it was clear that it would take no more than five minutes to get there.

The two slowed their pace to a jog when they saw the distant outline of a perimeter outpost. "I can't see any sentries, this is not looking good." Barney said as he zoomed in on the outpost with his rifle.

Gordon flicked the safety off his rifle, "Then we'd better hurry," he said before sprinting toward Prax.

The two came to a stop outside the front door, the one story square shaped structure was a direct line-of-sight into Combine territory. Sentries stationed at Prax and other outposts would regularly report on troop movement, supply status, and would occasionally launch raids against small groups of enemy forces. All of these made them strategic assets not only for the protection of Carsile but also for the war against the Combine. Prax needed to be secured.

Gordon was about to tear the door down when he caught the sounds of Combine radio chatter:

"_Status?"_

"_Hostile forces have been eradicated, the area is secure."_

"_Continue with the operation."_

"_Understood." _

Gordon looked at Barney, a dim anger in his eyes at the thought of more dead soldiers. He motioned for Barney to go around the back while he would charge straight in. Gordon waited three minutes for Barney to get in position before kicking the front door in. The wooden obstacle gave way with a crack, alerting the Combine soldiers inside as Gordon stepped through, weapon shouldered.

A Combine Elite was the first to move toward the doorway, his posture indicating a cautious nature. Gordon squeezed off a burst from his rifle, the rounds shredded through the soldier's skull, leaving him to drop on the floor. The sounds of queried radio chatter turned into weapons fire when Gordon raced past an open doorway to get a clear line of fire at the scattering Combine soldiers.

Gordon put his back to the wall that was right next to an open doorway, pulse capsules shredded through the wood next to Gordon's cover. He slammed a new clip into his rifle, hissing when a pulse round skimmed across his right forearm. Taking advantage of a brief pause in the enemy fire, Gordon aimed his rifle around the corner with his right hand and fired off an entire clip on full auto. Blind-firing forced the enemy to keep their heads down while Gordon looked inside to see where the enemy were positioned.

He quickly pulled his head back behind cover when he noticed that the Combine were starting to return fire. Pulse capsules tore through the wooden framework, skimming through the spot where Gordon's head had been only a second before. He kept firing blindly from his pulse-rifle, not wanting to charge in. _C'mon Barney, where are you?_ Gordon thought when more enemy fire forced him to seek refuge behind the wall.

Gordon was so engrossed with the skirmish between him and the squad of Combine Elite that he never noticed an enemy soldier off to his left. The troop stayed in the dark section of the hallway as he slowly raised his rifle. The soldier aimed for the head of its target and squeezed the trigger.

A trio of discharging pulse rounds collided with their intended target, shredding their way through the target's skull. Gordon snapped up his rifle as he looked to his left. He moved quickly enough to see the falling corpse of a Combine soldier and Barney, with his rifle held at the ready.

Gordon nodded his thanks when Barney tossed him an EMP grenade. The small cylindrical devices were the same size as a regular fragmentation grenade. The only difference being that these grenades emitted an electro magnetic pulse powerful enough to overload the cybernetic systems of Combine troops, effectively killing them instantly. Unfortunately, the grenades were in such short supply that they were used only in emergency situations.

Gordon powered down the electrical systems in his own suit before motioning for Barney to move in and distract the Combine. Barney nodded as he moved in, rifle blazing. Gordon waited before the Combine started firing at the new threat. He pulled the pin on the grenade and rolled it into the room yelling, "Clear!"

The grenade went off with a bang, emitting currents of electricity in its wake. Those volts found their way to the cybernetic and electronic systems of the Combine troops, sending enough electricity through their bodies to destroy several vital systems. By the time Barney and Gordon re-entered the room, there was no opposition left to fight.

Gordon and Barney moved through the smoking corpses of Combine troops, shooting each one in the head as they passed to make sure they were dead. The two moved through Prax, looking for any signs of a bomb.

Gordon kicked open a locked door but, with the exception of a collection of rebel corpses, the room was empty. _Continue with the operation_, the Combine's last audible radio transmission echoed in Gordon's mind. _What were they doing?_ Gordon thought.

"Gordon, I can't find anything out of the ordinary," Barney said as he walked into the kitchen, "Prax is clear."

Gordon gazed down at the Combine Elite, wondering what they could possibly have been doing. He was about to tell Barney to contact the others squads when a loud wail sounded from somewhere outside.

Barney locked eyes with Gordon, both of them knew that Hunters were very near. The two moved for the narrow hallway by the front door, kneeling by the sparse amount of cover that was available. They pointed their weapons toward the breached door, knowing that the synths would attempt to go through the most obvious entrance first.

The sound of wailing became louder; eventually the shuffling of feet could be heard as the tripedal creatures scouted the outpost for surprise attacks. Gordon and Barney waited nervously; Hunters were renowned for creating their own entrances. While the front door was a prime concern, they could, and undoubtedly would, attack from anywhere.

The two waited with nerves pounding as the sound of menacing growls and clicking feet became louder and louder. The sounds distracted them to the point where they didn't notice a Hunter as it emerged from the front door. Its blue coloured eyes seemed to narrow as it emitted a low warble before taking a combat stance.

"Gordon!" Barney yelled to get his friend's attention as he snapped up his rifle and fired at the Hunter. Pulse capsules tore through the synth's vulnerable sides, leaving pink fluids to ooze from multiple wounds. The first barrage only served to anger the Hunter, but while Barney reloaded, Gordon fired in his place. Continuing fire wounded the beast to the point where it was bleeding profusely.

The synth fired off a volley of flachettes down the hallway. The blue dart shaped canisters could stick to any compound and would explode after a few seconds. Barney rolled into an adjoining room to avoid the explosives while Gordon stayed where he was. The beast locked its eyes with Gordon as it charged, its long, three legs allowed it to reach fast speeds in a short time.

Gordon snapped up his rifle and squeezed the trigger, only to hear a resounding click. The weapon was empty. Acting quickly, Gordon dropped his pulse rifle and drew out his magnum side-arm. The Hunter was close now, so close that Gordon didn't even have time to aim. He stared into the creature's narrowed eyes as he fired off a round from his hip. The synth let out a warbling scream as it fell to the ground mere centimetres away from Gordon.

Barney moved back into the hallway and tossed Gordon a spare magazine. A grin was plastered on his face as he said, "Remember to reload next time."

Gordon made a mock salute with his fingers as he slipped the magazine into his pulse-rifle. Sounds of clicking feet drew Barney to the back door. He shouldered his weapon and covered that side while Gordon stayed by the front door.

The sounds of Hunter growls got to the point where Gordon assumed that at least four of them were still out there. A crash sounded from somewhere to Gordon's right, but before he had time to investigate he found himself facing another Hunter. The beast wasted no time in firing off a trio of flachettes. The explosive darts shredded into the wood where Gordon was taking cover, forcing him to roll over if he was going to stay alive.

Such a manoeuvre brought him next to another Hunter. Not wanting to be impaled by the beast's quivering appendages, Gordon rolled to his knees and fired his rifle on full auto. The rounds impacted through the Hunter as Gordon aimed for the creature's eyes. The synth must have fired off a flachette because as soon as Gordon targeted the creature's eyes, the beast vaporized right before his eyes.

Knowing that he needed a pulse-bomb to deal with the other beast, Gordon moved toward the corpses of the Combine Elite. He removed pulse-bomb canisters from their belts and put them in his own rifle. The target readout on his HEV suit confirmed that there were now three pulse-bombs inside his rifle.

Gordon moved into the hallway to find the other Hunter, he brought his weapon around the hallways he scanned for the creature. He was surprised to find that there was no Hunter. He stopped and listened for the clicking of the Hunter's feet. Such a noise did sound, from behind him.

He quickly spun around and aimed his rifle in the direction of the noise, only to be struck by the Hunter's head before he could fire. Gordon collided against the wall with enough force to damage the wooden infrastructure of Prax. Gordon's vision became blurry as he felt himself slipping unconscious. He saw his rifle hit the floor with a bang, the reverberation seemed to cause the weapon to fire. The last thing Gordon saw was a pulse-bomb escaping the confines of his rifle, the energy ball vaporized its target in a brilliant flash of energy.

* * *

**Next chapter will probably be out within two days or so, maybe less since I've got it already mapped out.**


	5. Emergnecy Deployment

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Thanks to Sgt Andy McNab for the review. I actually used part of your first suggestion in this chapter, so thanks for that

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"…..Status?"

The words pierced through the void Gordon seemed to be in. He opened his eyes to find himself staring at the ceiling, a loud ringing echoed in his ears as he stood up and looked around. Barney was talking into his radio, his facial expression indicating that whatever was happening wasn't good.

As the ringing started to subside Gordon stood up and moved behind Barney, eager to hear what was going on.

"We weren't ambushed and we don't have any casualties but we did manage to catch a communication from Fort Hayes. Barney," the rebel paused in his speech, clearly about to deliver unpleasant news. "They're under attack."

Gordon felt fear grip through him at the thought, Alyx was at Fort Hayes. She had moved there only a few days ago, at Gordon's insistence. The rebels had taken great pains to secretly construct a fallback point if things started going bad, Fort Hayes was just that. It was a major supply point that stockpiled munitions, food, and other resources.

If Alyx were to get injured because of what he had done, Gordon was sure he could never forgive himself.

Slinging his Pulse-rifle back around his shoulder, Gordon started walking out of Prax. Barney caught the sudden sound of footsteps and said, "Gordon, where do you think you're going?"

"Where do you think?" Gordon called over his shoulder, "I'm going to find Alyx."

Gordon felt Barney's grip on his shoulder just as he was about to walk out the front door. Barney spun Gordon around to face him, "Gordon, look. If you're going to do this you'll _need_ help. I want to help Alyx as much as you do, but we can't just go charging in and expect to stop the Combine. If they're attacking Fort Hayes that means that they're attacking with all of their remaining forces. We'll go in with the other rebels, if we can defeat the Combine there, we'll have ended this war. Just don't try to do this alone."

Gordon gave a reluctant nod at his friend's words; it was a logical course of action after all. Barney quickly pulled out his radio and broadcasted on the emergency channel, "Emergency Code Omega 323: All forces regroup at Eagle Point."

Gordon and Barney sprinted toward Carsile. Gordon felt as though his legs couldn't carry him as fast as he preferred, even though his surroundings were whipping past him in a blur of colour. Before he knew it he was standing just outside the entrance of Carsile, waiting impatiently as the blast door opened.

By the time the iron reinforced doorway had parted, Barney had finally caught up with Gordon. Being in his late fifties meant that he wasn't as energetic as Gordon, so he used the brief pause in sprinting to catch his breath. Looking up, Barney was surprised to see that his recruits were formed up inside the base, weapon slung over their shoulders.

They were clearly ready to fight, but Barney wanted to complete their training before he let them engage enemy forces. Barney stepped inside and shouted, "Recruits!'

All one hundred of the trainees placed their rifles by their shoulders in two swift, simultaneous motions before yelling out, "Sir!"

"Fort Hayes is under assault, Gordon and I will be leading most of our forces to repel this enemy threat. Your training is not yet complete, so I will be entrusting you with the security of Eagle Point and the well-being of all civilians stationed there-in. Guard it well soldiers!"

"We won't fail, sir!" The recruits shouted in unison

Kate moved towards her father, a mixture of fear and anger burning like poison in her mind as she thought of her mother. "Dad?" She questioned him softly.

"No Kate, you aren't coming," Gordon said with enough finality to make it clear that repeating the request would be unwise. His gaze softened when he noticed that his daughter looked to be on the verge of tears, "I can't go in there without worrying about both of you," Gordon said as he kneeled to be at his daughter's height. "I need you to do this for me."

"Just promise me something Dad," Kate said as she looked into her father's eyes.

"Anything," Gordon replied without hesitation.

"Promise me you'll get her back."

"I promise," Gordon said. He gave his daughter a fierce hug before joining Barney and the other rebels. Gordon looked to see that some of the rebels had distributed the prototype assault and sniper rifles among the divisions. Something he was grateful for, he had no doubt that they would need them for the coming battle.

* * *

"As…predictable as a….mathematical….equation," The G-Man said with a grin as he teleported himself back to Vericon, having temporarily ended his covert operations on Earth. Issuing orders to Combine squads had allowed the G-Man to manoeuvre the rebels into the very trap they were in now.

"Is Plant G6-42 secure yet?" The Alpha stated impatiently through his usual telepathic link.

The Alpha's impatience was starting to get to him. If he didn't have a use for the Combine, he would have killed the Alpha by now. Turning to face the hovering Advisor, the G-Man said, "Not yet, Alpha" The G-Man said, the Advisor's position clearly spoken with distain. "These…things….cannot be….rushed."

"You promised complete control of Planet G6-42, so far I have yet to see results."

"_I_…will do things…_my_…way. If you are…..unaware…of what is taking…place….in your own…territory, I…hardly….think that I…am to…..blame. I have already sealed….their fate. It is…only a matter of…time."

Having been satisfied with the answer, and weary of the G-Man's power, the Alpha withdrew to the Central Chamber. The G-Man had accounted for every possible scenario, he had no doubt that he would be able to secure victory for the Combine.

_And then_, The G-Man thought with a grim smile, _I can continue with my plans_.

* * *

Alyx ran through the Fort Hayes, avoiding passing soldiers as she made her way to the armoury. The fort only consisted of a bunker centred in the heart of a forest. The entire structure had been constructed out of concrete, with a reinforced steel infrastructure that was guaranteed to make the bunker bomb-proof.

Combine mortar bombardment seemed to be testing that theory, the bombardment was enough to cause a flutter in the bunker's floor. And Alyx knew that a flutter in a solid concrete structure was not a good thing. Armed rebels made their way toward the main door, their khaki uniforms stuffed with ammo and equipment. The soldiers held their pulse-rifles at the ready as they sprinted toward the main entrance.

Alyx had never wanted to move out of Carsile, she had always liked living there. But when Gordon had insisted on her transfer, she had felt compelled to agree. He had said something a 'familiar feeling,' something which had always warned him of approaching danger. Alyx had wanted her daughter to come to but Gordon had said that it would be best if Kate stayed in Carsile. Alyx was grateful for that now.

Moving toward a small doorway, Alyx keyed in a few numbers in a nearby keypad before the small door would slide open. Rows of weapons were layed out in rows on large shelves. Pulse-rifles, semi-automatic machine guns, pistols, grenades, and even knifes were all clustered inside the armoury. Alyx grabbed a pulse-rifle and a combat knife before leaving the armoury and heading toward the main door.

Alyx arrived in the hallway to see that rebel soldiers were already establishing good defensible positions. Soldiers pressed their bodies into the metal walls that jutted out into the corridor. Captured pulse turrets were being deployed on the floor, their prone operators waited as the sounds of Combine radio chatter reached a frantic point.

"Here they come!" A rebel shouted to the rest of his squad when he saw that a section of the blast door was being torn apart by some sort of blow-torch. A man-sized hole had been punched through the steel door, leaving a thin layer of smoke in its place. A squad of Combine were the first to emerge from the foggy layer, their weapons already firing out pulse capsules.

Rebel soldiers returned fire not too long after. The hallway was filled with pulse rounds, rebels and Combine alike were falling from the barrage. Regardless of the chaos, Combine forces continued to charge through the narrow opening, hoping to get enough troops through to drive the rebels back.

* * *

**I apologize if this chapter seemed to suck, I wrote this while I was angry, and I still am for that matter.**

**It turns out that my training has been pushed to July 14th. That itself itsn't bad but According to Colonel Aitken, we aren't even going to be going through BMQ training or SQ training. A lack of drill instructors means that I'll be taking my official BMQ and SQ training during my senior high school year. And THAT means that I'll be taking basic training courses every weekend during the next school year.**

**The only good thing that happened today was that I was swore into the Candian Forces. I am now an official soldier in the Army.**

**Pvt. Bowden, Service Number C12 959 176. **


	6. Defence of Fort Hayes

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Sorry about the wait, this was just one of those chapter where I really had to think about what I wanted to do. Good news is that I know exactly where I'm going with the next chapter so it won't take as long...I hope.

**Thanks to all my reviewers too: Sgt Andy McNab, solid man, Still Bullet, and the anonymous guy. Always great to get reviews like yours...or reviews at all for that matter.**

* * *

The smell of gun-powder was more noticeable than usual in the narrow hallway as more soldiers fired. Empty pulse round casings littered the floor as rebel soldiers fired clip after clip into the advancing Combine. A pile of bodies had started to form inside the bunker as more and more enemy troops fell before rebel marksmanship, leaving most of the enemy to die without having fired a single shot. Alyx knew that the Combine wouldn't be able to punch through their defences as long as the rebels concentrated their fire on a single point.

The Combine seemed to know that too, for another section of the blast door was cut-through. Half of the rebels immediately switched their aim to the new breach, waiting for another wave of enemy forces. But, to their surprise, nothing happened. The Combine continued to charge through the first breach as if it was the only entry point.

With half of the rebels waiting for a wave that never came, the Combine found it that much easier to get troops inside. There were a few that were brought down by continuing rebel fire, but the rest were able to move inside the hallway.

By the time the other rebels had turned their weapons on the Combine, the enemy soldiers were already moving down in a crouched position, their pulse-rifles firing rampantly. A few of the human defenders were killed by the enemy fire, their bodies shredded with pulse rounds. Combine soldiers started dropping not long after now that all of the rebels were firing at them.

Electronic screams were almost loud enough to drown out the sounds of weapons fire as Combine soldiers screeched from severe bullet wounds. _They have to have brought more than just an army of soldiers_, Alyx thought; noticing that only the back-bone of the Combine military, the standard soldiers, were charging through. Even so, the troops were continuing to press forward.

The blue goggled troops had to climb over the bodies of dead comrades as more of them fell to pulse fire, both from turrets and pulse-rifles. Most of them were being gunned down as soon as they appeared, but a large majority of Combine forces were advancing further ahead now, gaining ground as they crouched and fired. More rebels fell from the barrage, while others screamed from wounds. The wounded gritted their teeth to block out the pain as they held their weapons in a weak grip and fired.

Enemy soldiers were pressing forward, their radio chatter sounding desperate in the chaos. It seemed, to Alyx, as if they requesting assistance. She didn't even have time to stop to think about what that might be before a squad of Combine Elite charged through the second breach. The small squad moved so fast that nobody, not even Alyx, had time to react before the squad fired off a volley of pulse bombs. The energy balls were aimed toward the turret operators on the far side of the corridor.

Alyx watched in horror as the turret operators were vaporized, their outlines vanishing in a bright display of white light. Without turret support, the Combine were quick to overwhelm the rebel defenders. The Elite continued to fire pulse bombs while Combine soldiers stormed through the hallway with pulse-weapons on full auto.

It wasn't long before the garrison commander, Dimitri, ordered a retreat. He started backing away from the middle of the hallway as he shouted, "Fall back, fall back! Head for the storage area but keep your weapons pointed at them!"

Those who could still walk complied with the order. Short, sustained bursts were enough to end the advance of a few enemy soldiers. Alyx fired at a squad of soldiers who looked as though they were preparing to fire. Two of the soldiers fell from Alyx's marksmanship while the others opened fire. The discharging rounds impacted into the frontlines of retreating rebels, tearing cleanly through their bodies. The rebel corpses fell to the floor with a thud, blood pouring through bullet wounds in their chests..

The ruthless enemy forces ended the lives of the wounded with quick bursts from their rifles. The enemy continued to advance down the hallway, they were able to put more soldiers in the front as the corridor began to widen. Alyx paused in her retreat when she caught a flicker of a white uniform among the sea of grey suits. She shouldered her pulse rifle and drew out her knife, the double-edged steel blade was crafted for balance.

In one quick motion, Alyx threw the blade toward the barley visible outline of a Combine Elite. The knife spun in the air as it darted forward in a linear trajectory. The steel blade collided into the side of the Elite's helmet, piercing through the bulky helmet and into the target's brain almost instantly.

With the brief loss of leadership, the Combine offensive lost coordination for a few seconds, but that few seconds was more than enough for a counter-attack. Dimitri ordered proximity mines to be placed while he, Alyx, and three others fired at the Combine.

Recoil from the pulse-rifles hammered into the shoulders of the rebels as they fired their weapons in small bursts. Alyx knew that maintaining discipline in small skirmishes was an important key to achieving victory. Panicking soldiers would often fire their weapons on full auto in a desperate attempt to kill their enemies, the result often being that that the enemy forces would win.

This was a problem that many rebels experienced throughout the war, from the Battle of City Seventeen onward. Barney had helped to sharpen the rebels into fully capable soldiers, allowing the Resistance to win more and more battles.

It was for skirmishes like this where that training really mattered, and the soldiers were doing a great job of showing what they had learned. Rebels fired into their temporarily confused opponents, killing an entire file of troops. "Mines are ready!" Alyx barley heard the rebel demolitionist shouts above the constant thumping of semi-auto rifle fire.

Dimitri ordered the small cluster of mines to be activated as soon as he and the others had cleared the blast radius. The mines were the size of small dinner plates. Sensors were built on top of the disc shaped devices, designed specifically to detect motion. The slightest hint of motion would send a signal toward the detonator in the mines, unleashing an explosion the size of five fragmentation grenades.

The rebels increased their pace as they retreated down the hallways toward the designated fallback point. A few Combine crossed within range of the first mine, enticing a small beep from the device as the motion detectors went off. A quick radio query was the last transmission that came from a squad of soldiers before the cluster of mines exploded with a thunderous crack in the tightly packed corridor. Those who weren't killed by the blast were dead by the time the shrapnel tore through their bodies, fragments of glass collided with soldiers in multiple places.

Alyx could barley see as the thick smoke funnelled through the hallway, having few ducts for ventilation. She was forced to return fire as she felt bullets zoom past her head, she aimed her rifle through the smoke-screen in front of her and pulled the trigger while she continued to regroup with the rest of the squad.

* * *

Gordon came to a stop when he saw the distant outline of Fort Hayes. He felt his eyes widen when he saw a mass of Combine infantry, a few white uniforms could easily be spotted next to the grey uniforms of the soldiers, marking the locations of the tactically superior Combine Elite. A few dots of green signalled that an entire divison of Hunters were clustered near the bunker, it was the largest concentration of the creatures that Gordon had ever seen. He felt like charging ahead to the bunker, he would willingly engage all of these soldiers if it meant that he could find his wife. But the logical and tactical side of him forced him to come up wth a plan and draw the Combine away from the opening.

It was at this time that Barney and the other rebels caught up to Gordon, he had been sprinting as fast as he possibly could all the way to the fort, even going so far as to ignore the rasping in his lungs as he sprinted harder than he had ever moved. Gordon took one look at Barney's surpsied expression and noticed that he had seen the number of Combine forces as well. "We'll have to draw them away," Gordon said as he caught Barney's eye.

His friend nodded and started scanning the surrounding terrain. The forest was dotted with ridges and hills, providing a constant flux in elevation that might work to their advantage. Barney pointed to the rebels who were equipped with the new sniper models, "Miranda, post your snipers on the ridge. Don't fire until I give the order." Barney paused before he noticed an area with thick vegetation, "Greg, I want heavy weapons in that area. Recon status until I say otherwise."

"Acknowledged," Greg said. He pointed to their location and ten others marched right behind Greg. Miranda nodded her understanding to Barney before she signalled for her team to follow her. Fifteen other rebels broke the loose formation to follow their team leader.

Barney watched them go before shouting to the others, "Everyone else," he turned to gaze at them before continuing, "lock and load! We're moving in."

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**Now I stayed up 'till 4:00 this morning, working on this chapter. Mainly because I give myself a deadline for finishing chapters and it was today. So I really tried to wrap all my notes into a chapter that was action-packed while being easy to read and understand. **

**Still Bullet, I hope you got a chance to read this before you leave tommorrow, since that was one of my goals.**


	7. Unexpected Test

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I really worked to get you guys this chapter before I start training tommorrow at 7:00, which mean I'll have to wake myself up at 5:30 so that I can leave by 6:30.

**Anyway it turns out that training is scheduled from wednesday-sunday. I'll be in barracks for that time, then I'll be taken back on Monday. So it looks like I'll only have Monday and Tuesday to give you updates for this. I'll be working on giving you updates, but I'm thinking that it'll be slow going.**

**Special Thanks to holywarrior, Vypress, and solid man for the the reviews.**

**Review Responses (I realize I haven't been doing this in a while. Sorry about that.)**

**solid man: My deadlines are actually every two days, though there were three or four times when I wrote a chapter in three days. **

**holywarrior: Glad to know that you consider my fic good enough to read while its uncompleted. Personally, I've never read any fanfics where rebels are portrayed as an awesome power, but then again I haven't read many others recently.**

**Vypress: I think that you'll find that I still left you hanging for the last chapter...**

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"Tactical preparation! Get that gear strapped on!" Kate shouted out her orders from outside the main armoury at Eagle Point. She had never really thought of herself as a leader, but once the others had started looking to her for orders it was if she knew what had to be done. Part of her couldn't help but wonder if she had gotten this from her father. With a great effort, she pushed her thoughts of family away. She couldn't bother worrying about them; she had to concentrate on her squad and the defence of Eagle Point.

Tac-vests were passed out to each soldier, the light-weight cloth was engraved with a khaki camo. Four pockets were attached to the vest and were quickly stuffed with ammunition and canteen packs. Recruits placed bayonets down the middle of the vest, the sharp blades were rarely used but, Barney had always taught them to prepare for anything.

"You ever used one of these things?" Jason asked as he examined his bayonet. Jason was the type of soldier who had a sniper's ethos, he preferred long-range combat to being up close and personal.

Kate didn't know if he was asking her specifically but she decided to answer anyway. "Only in training exercises," Kate said as Jason started to twirl the blade with his fingers. She frowned when she noticed that the others were getting distracted by it, "Let's move out, we've got a base to defend."

Jason twirled the blade back and forth, he grinned as he looked up at her. "Can I do it one more time?"

Kate looked at him as she tried to hide her amusement, "Jason let's go."

"Oh I'm sorry," Jason said as he watched the others head toward the wall, "how selfish of me. Let's do everything _you_ want to do."

Even years of Barney's training couldn't stop Kate from rolling her eyes as Jason passed her, a smug look across his face. Kate headed for the wall, the steel barricade would allow Kate and the others to defend the base easily. All they would need to do would be to concentrate their fire on the area around the wall's only vulnerability, the blast door entrance.

With that in mind, Kate had ordered forty of the others to take up defensive positions around the blast door. She had given Ryan command of that group, since he had always displayed a knack for stealth during Barney's exercises. So much so that he had been able to lead a successful ambush against Barney and a squad of veteran rebels during training.

Ryan squad's position was marked on her H.U.D, which was something that Doctor Kliener and her father had invented. The H.U.D was nothing more than a small square shaped eyepiece that was attached to the squad's ballistic helmets. The HUD received wireless feed from the helmets of the others squad members, making it easier to identify who was who. The HUD had the unique ability to react to the wearer's thoughts; it allowed Kate to do everything from projecting displays of tactical maps to ordering her squad to a new location. Not only did it ease the responsibility of a squad leader, but friendly fire was often avoided now that everyone knew where everyone else was located.

"Red One?" A voice that Kate recognized as Patrick's said through the COM.

"Go ahead."

"I've got a bad feeling," Patrick said with a slightly shaky voice.

That had Kate's full attention; Patrick had always demonstrated a unique danger perception. His intuitive sense had allowed Kate and the others to avoid Barney's stun traps on obstacle courses. He was rarely wrong.

She instantly opened a COM channel to everyone else, "Possible contact sighting, eyes sharp everyone."

"Roger Red One, we're vigilant up here." Patrick replied. Kate could still detect the shakiness in his voice, she knew him long enough to know that his bad feeling was intensifying.

* * *

A-78 and his respective platoon moved toward their objective. They had been tasked with the infiltration of an enemy fortification and they moved silently toward their destination. Knowing that fully weighted gear betrayed a soldier's location while running, 78 had ordered the others to travel light. His plan called for a quick assault, a strike that would be fast and lethal.

The only obstacle preventing 78 from ensuring his objective was the steel wall. But 78 wouldn't quit now. He was a Combine shock trooper, and shock troopers never fail.

The answer came to him almost as soon as he gazed at the blast door. 78 was about to activate when his COM, when he check himself. Using the open COM channel would undoubtedly alert any enemy forces. Instead, 78 handed a pulse charge to a squad member and then pointed toward the blast door. The circular charges were fairly small, remote explosives that vaporized organic tissue on contact. 78 doubted that the charge itself would be able to tear through the door, but that didn't matter.

The appointed squad member nodded and headed out, his stealth field shielding him from enemy eyes as he moved to his destination. 78 and the others could see each other due to the thermal feed from their helmets, 78 switched to normal vision when he noticed that the charge had been placed.

As soon as the shock trooper was back, 78 withdrew a sticky bomb from one of his pockets. It had taken the Combine five years before they were able to duplicate the design of the salvaged rebel sticky bombs. But whereas the enemy variation ahd been used to eliminate the entire Strider population, the Combine had designed theirs with an extremely volatile compound. Upon detonation, the chemical reaction resulted in a thunderous explosion.

78 activated the bomb and threw it with all the range that his cybernetic enhancements could provide.

* * *

"Contact! Sticky bomb inbound!"

"Confirmed, get out of there!" Kate yelled into the COM channel.

"Wait, I can see something from here!" A voice that Kate didn't recognize shouted back.

"I said move out!" Kate yelled back into the COM as she and the others descended from the wall toward the blast door by using the watchtowers.

As soon as the bomb was in place, 78 detonated the pulse-bomb attached to the blast door.

The ear-splitting explosion was enough to knock everyone who was on the ground to their feet. For those who weren't quick enough to leave the wall, the explosion propelled them into the air as they let out screams, from surprise and pain.

A thick black cloud followed in the wake of the explosive storm, creating a smoke-screen that severely limited field of vision. Kate quickly got herself to her feet and caught a glimpse of wounded squadmates from just outside the blast door, she snapped on her COM and said, "Bring the others back to the rear lines."

"On my way squad leader!" A few voices responded before Kate noticed three of her soldiers move through the smoke screen.

"I can't—" A rebel halted mid-sentence. "I hear something…." The channel cut back in with the sound of a rebel screaming, "We're under fire!"

Kate heard the discharge of pulse-rifles and human screams; she yelled for the others to fall back but static was her only reply. By this time Kate and the others of Red Team were shuffling back, their weapons pointed toward the thick black smoke as they waited for Combine forces to come through. A trio of rounds erupted from the smoke, taking one of the recruits down as he let out a surprised yelp.

Kate's eyes flashed with anger as she pointed toward the smoke and yelled into her COM, "Open fire!"

Ryan and his forces obeyed instantly, their weapons firing on full auto as they filled the entrance with bullets. A few electronic screams were barley audible over the pounding of pulse-rifles in Kate's ears. Just when she was beginning to think that they must have retreated, more rifle bursts sounded from inside the base. Kate couldn't believe it, she had never seen any Combine get through the entrance. _Shock troops_, the thought came in a flash, as more pulse fire seemed to erupt from thin air.

* * *

An emotion welled up inside 78, something his cybernetic systems didn't process. If 78 was still fully human, he would have smiled.

Combine shock troops never fail.

* * *

**I've been trying to incorporate Barney's trainees with military discipline but also leave them with some of Barney's humor. That way they're not just a bunch of military drones.**

**If you haven't read the first courple of lines up top, then I suggest you do that for information about updates. **

**If you have then great, and tell me what you thought.**

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	8. On the Defensive

**First off, I'm sorry for the long wait. But most of the time I just find myself catching up on some much needed sleep on my two days off.. Plus I didn't really have any good ideas for this chapter.**

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Kate was having a hard time keeping her soldiers together. Pulse rounds were either flying wildly into the air, or they were tearing apart her troops. The smell of blood and gunpowder was almost overpowering as the rebels continued to back away from the breached blast door, weapons firing in wide arcs as they tried to fight an invisible enemy. Wounded comrades screamed for help, blood pouring out of wounds as they tried to crawl back to their teammates.

Kate swept her weapon in front of her in a 180 degree arc, firing on full auto with the hope that she would score a lucky kill. The rattling of spent pulse capsules was enough to make her ears throb. Kate and her squad continued to move behind obstacles in an attempt to seek cover, but as more and more rebels lay sprawled out on the ground it was clear that the Combine shock troops had the advantage.

Desperate for a defendable location, Kate used her peripheral vision to search for some type of one-way entrance while she continued to fire. She kept ordering her squad to retreat in between the small bursts emitting from her pulse-rifle. "Blue One?" Kate cried into her COM, as Red Team continued to retreat, their feet automatically carrying them toward the science lab.

"…….coming around."

"Blue One, repeat your last transmission."

"We're dropping our...…. and coming around."

The sound of Combine radio traffic forced Kate to ignore Blue team's report and concentrate on holding onto their position. Her squad was only a few metres away from the lab, but Kate had ordered the others to hold their position while they waited for Blue Team.

Two years of training took over Kate's actions, she projected an overhead map of Eagle Point on her HUD and a NAV marker on the display. She transferred the image to the rest of her squad and received green lights in confirmation of the order as they sprinted toward their new destination.

Kate was weary about choosing a house for a defensive location, but given the fact that they were completely exposed out in the open; she didn't believe they had much choice anymore.

On Kate's orders, Red Team sought cover at their designated location. Two recruits crouched by the entrance to the building, their pulse-rifles snapped up as they laid down sweeping fire. As soon as the last soldier stepped inside, the two sentries backed into the building, their weapons still blaring in short sustained bursts.

Fighting phantoms was beginning to take its toll on the young recruits, their eyes darted back and forth around the base as they searched for a target. Only Kate's commanding presence kept their sanity intact. "Everyone blind fire your weapons! Don't even bother looking for targets!"

A small chorus of acknowledgements was her only response to the order before her squad pointed their weapons out of the windows and continued firing; their backs never leaving the wall.

"Targets have retreated to grid 264 by 235. Switching to assault mode."

"Negative. Draw them out, use Trihexilon."

"Understood, squad deploying in compliance with attack pattern Echo Three Six."

Alpha-78 watched as his remaining fourteen soldiers broke off to envelop the target building, they advanced with rifles raised at the low ready. Enemy fire was still firing in random directions, forcing 78 and the others to move at a cautious pace in a crouching position.

As soon as the rest of the squad reported ready, 78 gave the order to launch off a volley of Trihexilon. The gas had been developed as a highly lethal bloodr agent, it was designed to be fired from a portable attachment to the pulse-rifle, where it would then be dispersed through the air almost immediately. Exposure to Trihexilon resulted in absorption by the skin, where the gas would then attack the body at the cellular level resulting in a slightly quick, though painless, death.

The Combine shock troops watched as a couple of gas canisters landed right outside the window of their target building.

Kate gripped the edge of her rifle nervously as she listened to Ryan on the COM, "We're heading down to retrieve those thermal goggles Doctor Kliener's been working on. I get the feeling that we'll be able to see the Combine with those on. I'm sending all but two from my group to assist you."

"Make it quick Ryan, I've got a bad feeling that I just can't shake down."

There was a brief pause before Ryan replied, "Understood, I'll be as quick as possible."

Kate squelched the channel and returned her attention to the skirmish being waged in front of her. Following their training, her soldiers were firing out of the windows at a slight angle, their riles were close to the window but back far enough so that the barrel of the weapon stayed in the shadows.

They were firing in small bursts, rotating their rifles as they squeezed the triggers. Most of them were hoping they would score a lucky kill, though they had yet to see any results.

Kate's bad feeling started to amplify when she noticed that the Combine weren't storming the house as she expected them to. _Where are they? _Kate found herself repeating those three words as the impending assault she had fully expected never arrived.

Just when she was about to ask her forward sentries for a sit-rep a loud wail erupted from the pocket of her Tac-vest. Kate's eyes widened in fear when she remembered that the alarm was coming from her biological and chemical gas detector. The Combine were using chemical warfare.

Shaking herself out of her split-second hesitation Kate immediately yelled, "Gas! Gas! Gas!"

The entire platoon, snapped their eyes closed and held their breath as they sprinted out of the building's back door. Having wandered around these streets since they were five, Kate and the others were able to sprint in a zig-zagging pattern.

Unfortunately, two quick bursts of enemy fire ensured that the first two recruits never had a chance to clear the doorway. Pulse capsules sliced through the base of their necks, severing enough nerve endings to kill their targets.

Kate and the others didn't stop moving until their backs were only a few metres away from the entrance of Carsile's forward command post. Kate glanced back at her platoon and shouted, "This is where the line has been drawn! We either hold them here or lose the base. No retreats! No excuses!"

Her soldiers answered her by loading their rifles, the lust for vengeance looming in their eyes.

* * *

**I had the inspiration of adding Checmical warfare since I was just exposed to CS gas only six hours ago at the gas huts as part of our training. What really sucked is that the first time we went in we moved in fully suited. But becuase I forgot to check the seal on my gas-mask I was actually breathing in the CS gas while we were doing jumping jacks. The concentration was so high that I found myself coughing violently (of course being somewhat sick didn't help me either). Warrant Officer Smith sent me out of the gas hut when he realized that my gask mask wasn't sealed properly. So I ended up exchanging masks and going in again. **

**Luckily, the seal was fine that round and I was able to do everything fine. After exiting the gas huts fully suited we had to take off our masks and move back toward the entrance. We went in one at a time, we had to bolt to the centre of the gas infected room before we could even put on our gas masks. I can tell you that your eyes sting almost immediatley, add the fact that you have to hold your breath and close your eyes while you put on your mask and you have a challenge on your hands. **

**This training weekend was definitely the best so far, too bad I only have one weekend left...**


	9. Calculated Retreat

**Wow. Five weeks without updating,. Sorry about that guys, but I've had a lot of things on my mind. **

**I just wnat to thank all of those who took the time to review during my absence, and that number of people is two. WOW! **

**Review Responses:**

**Still Bullet: As always your reviews are as inspiring as your fanfics are great.**

**The Half-Life 2 guy: Gordon doesn't talk in the video game, true. But of course, that's most likley due to the fact that Valve couldn't find anyone with a good enough voice, or they thought it took away from the first person shooter experience. Anyway, I really don't even see why you took the time to write a review like that. I don't really care whtether or not you believe in the relationship I've created between the Combine and G-Man since its my job as a writer to _make_ you believe that its possible. But anyway, good to know you're still reading it and at least you took the time to write something.**

* * *

"Get down!" The order was screamed right after a pulse round tore through Adam's forearm. The rest of Red Team threw themselves to the ground and into the prone position even while Adam screamed in pain, crimson blood jetting out from his now severed artery.

The sounds of discharging rifles drowned out Adam's painful cries, an enemy round striking him in his forehead. Muzzle flashes illuminated the darkened passageway that Kate had led her team to as the recruit returned fire. The small area was just barley wide enough for the recruits to fit in. Kate stood at the centre of a rectangular formation, the two entrances of the passageway demanding that the troops focused their fire in that direction.

_My first command_, Kate thought as she slapped a fresh clip into her rifle and pulled the cocking handle back, _not exactly shaping up the way I thought_. More enemy fire bombarded their position, splintering wood and concrete as the pulse rounds sweeped the area. Kate was quick to see that this wasn't the ideal area to make a last stand. She had to move, now.

Shouting to be heard above the thunderous exchange of gun-fire, Kate pointed to the front rank and ordered them to throw the last of their grenades. The rear rank moved to the kneeling position to cover their companions. The recruits adopted the position with a degree of uneasiness; none of their training scenarios had ever lasted for such a time. The constant fighting was starting to tear away at their endurance.

Even so, they raised their weapons and continued to fire in short bursts. They fought to maintain control over their weapon; their barrels were already extremely hot from the automatic fire.

They continued to fire in short bursts as the front rank pulled out their grenades. The devices lacked any explosive armament; instead they were loaded with shrapnel and just enough chemicals to propel the shrapnel six metres from the grenade. When the safety pin on the grenade was pulled, the tubes that separated the combustible from the oxidant were opened. There would be a four second delay until the chemicals exploded with just enough force to expel their payload.

The thrown grenades arced away from the recruits, landing in the dirt some twenty metres away. The detonation some three seconds later caused several rebels to flinch. The recruits didn't expect the grenades to find any targets, but to their surprise an electronic scream resounded with the detonation of the second grenade.

Kate seized the very opportunity she had been waiting for, she stopped firing and yelled for the others to move. They obeyed her command, moving with a sense of urgency honed by training and fuelled by adrenaline. They quickly sprinted out of Carsile's forward command centre and moved toward the lab.

"Keep your heads down!" Kate yelled from the rear, her weapon firing at the smallest hint of movement.

Her squad complied by sprinting in zig-zags, making it harder for enemy forces to track their movements. They urged their wearied limbs forward, darting to their objective while enemy fire struck the area around them. Pulse capsules shredded through dirt, wood, and concrete, sending splintered fragments of the particles into the air. Pulse capsule marks could be seen mere inches away from the feet of the retreating trainees.

Kate continued to cover her retreating squad, her rifle firing at the barley visible shadowy emanation showing against the concrete background of the command centre. Finally being able to glimpse something other than muzzle flashes, Kate immediately stopped sprinting. She quickly adopted the kneeling position and aimed for where the emanation had been coming from. Seconds before she could squeeze the trigger, she felt a searing pain tear through her shoulder blade. The force of the blow blew Kate over on her back as she cried out in pain, blood flowing from the fresh wound.

Despite the pain Kate knew that she had to get out of the line of fire if she was going to survive. Gritting her teeth, Kate somehow found the strength to get herself back onto her two feet. Though, the sound of bullets soaring past her ears reminded her know that the Combine weren't about to let her leave. Trying to suppress the pain for the time being, Kate used her good arm to hold her rifle while she sprinted after her squad.

She'd moved no more than ten metres when another pulse round tore through her left leg, the bullet's penetration send her to the ground with a cry of pain. Just before she hit he ground, she felt herself slipping unconscious. She tried to fight the darkness that was gathering around her vision, but she couldn't find the strength. Amidst the blackness threatening to consume her she heard someone scream, "Kate! Kate!"

Ryan tightened his grip around the magazine of his pulse rifle as the lift continued to descend down to the lab. The battle raging in Carsile was turning for the worst. He'd had to turn off his COM when the channel had started to fill with screams from wounded comrades. _Maybe we weren't ready for this_, Ryan thought as he looked over at Jack and Tran. The two looked to be incredibly on edge, Tran's knuckles were white as he tightly gripped his rifle and Jack's face was looked like a full moon.

Shaking his head, Ryan pushed his grim thoughts away. He checked the ammo readout on his rifle, it registered a full magazine but Ryan pressed the magazine release and visually confirmed it. He took a deep breath before turning to the others. "Jack, Tran. I know this isn't easy, but we need to focus on our objective. The sooner we find those thermal goggles, the sooner we get spread out and hunt down the Combine"

"Understood," Tran replied.

As soon as the lift came to a halt, the three recruits stormed out. They made their way out of the elevator and down the concrete reinforced hallways. Their combat boots clattered against the pavement as Ryan led the others down the corridor until they were standing outside a blast door marked to Sector C: Equipment Development and Improvement.

"This door's sealed tight, I can't believe this! The equipment's right in there and we can't get to it!" Jack cried as he pounded his fist on the door.

"Take it easy!" Ryan snapped as he studied the blast door. There was a keypad to his left, but Ryan had no idea what the code was and he wasn't about to sit around figuring it out. Turning to to the other two he said, "Split up and find one of the scientists. Move!"

The three were about to scramble when they caught a flick of movement in their peripheral vision. Without even thinking, the three snapped their rifles up, flicked off the safety and yelled, "Stop where you are!"

Ryan watched as a figure appeared from around the corner, he was expecting enemy fire to rip through him at any moment. He sighted through the scope, but relaxed when he saw that it was a friendly. "Doctor Kliener?" Ryan called as he lowered his rifle.

Kliener lowered his own weapon , a tactical pistol, with shaking hands, and walked towards the person he couldn't quite identify at this range. When he was just twenty feet away he stopped and said, "Ryan? What are you doing down here?"

"Combine Shock troops are tearing us apart above. We thought that thermal goggles would be able to detect them through their camouflage."

Kliener nodded as he stepped to the keypad for Sector C and punched in the code. "You're in luck, we just finished a dozen or so last week."

A green light indicated that the code was correct. Ryan watched as the blast door slowly parted. The two layers of armoured plating slowly eased apart until the three could see their objective, thermal goggles were lying on the nearest workbench. Ryan ordered Tran and Jack to take as many as they could carry. They'd need to pass more onto their squadmates.

Just before leaving Ryan turned to Kliener and said, "Doc, I'm going to be bringing in casualties, I'll need a first-aid team standing by."

Kliener adjusted the glasses on his face before he gave a nod of acknowledgement.

Without saying another word, Ryan led Tran and Jack back to the elevator at a brisk pace, a pair of thermal goggles worn on their heads with the extras secured on their tac-vest.

Five minutes later, the three were stepping off of the lift, thermal goggles switched on. The goggles were built to tap into the lower end of the electromagnetic spectrum, they were designed to detect the infrared radiation that all objects emit based on their temperature. Thermal vision even allowed the operator to see in total darkness since ambient light level wasn't necessary for its function. Ryan watched his companions through the new thermal vision, they looked to be made of a wide-range of colours. Everything from black to white, black being the coldest and white being the hottest.

The three proceeded in a single-file line out of the blast door. The sounds of gun-fire had gradually increased as the lift drew closer to the surface, and by now it seemed as though they were on the very edge of a battle. Gazing around the corner, Ryan could see a large group of people sprinting toward his position. He switched off the thermal goggles, and wasn't surprised to find that what was left of the company was sprinting to safety, enemy fire landing dangerously close to their feet.

Ryan could see Kate urging the others forward, as she continued to lay down suppressing fire. Ryan turned to Tran and Jack, pointed to the others and said, "Hand out the rest of the goggles, tell them I want three fire-teams to search every section of this base. Jack, you'll escort the rest into the lab. Move! Move! Move!"

"Right away," was the only acknowledgement Ryan received before the two moved to rejoin with their company.

Ryan started to move after them when the sound of painful cry diverted his attention. He spun around, rifle raised, seeing something he never thought his eyes would bear witness to; Kate was lying on the ground with a barley visible bullet wound in her shoulder. Knowing he couldn't help her without getting himself shot, Ryan flipped his thermal back on and searched for these elusive Combine Shock troops.

With the thermal on, Ryan could see several green shaped humanoids where there had once been nothing but buildings. Sighting through the pulse rifle with thermal goggles on was a challenge, but Ryan was able to adapt quickly enough. He took aim at the nearest green figure and squeezed the trigger. A three round burst hit the target dead-centre in the head, leaving a slowly fading hot spot in its wake. Ryan quickly switched targets, taking aim again before double tapping his pulse rifle. The two rounds knocked the next target off its feet, leaving Ryan free to fire a follow-through shot to the head.

The sound of another discharging weapon forced Ryan to look away from his rifle. His eyes widened when he saw Kate collapse to the ground, a small pool of blood forming around her leg. Ryan yelled in desperation, "Kate! Kate!"

Ryan's fear turned to anger when he noticed that she wasn't moving. Ryan quickly sighted through his scope and saw two more green shapes lurking beside a few residential houses. He quickly fired off a burst at each target, four shots rang out and two bodies dropped where they stood. Slinging his rifle, Ryan moved to Kate's unconscious form, he flipped her onto her back and grabbed her left arm before draping her body over his shoulders. Holding Kate's rifle in one hand, Ryan moved as fast as he could to the lab entrance.

"Ryan stop where you are!" Jack ordered over the COM.

Not being one to disobey an order, Ryan did as he was told, only to feel the heat wave of a pulse round pass just next to his forehead. A trio of shots followed the first, they were quickly followed by Jack saying, "Alright Ryan you're clear to move, target's down."

Ryan did just that, moving as fast as he could until he stepped inside the lab's blast doors. Once he was inside, Ryan ordered Jack to get Kate to a medic while he reloaded his rifle joined the others outside.

There was an infestation at Eagle Point, and three fire-teams were the cure.

* * *

**So what did you think? I spent some time reworking on this today, especially since I felt that my writing slipped in the last chapter after looking it over. **

**I do have one request from any of my readers who haven't read The Seven Hour War. After a month or two it still has a surprinsgly low hit list and I'd like to see that increased. A review or two wouldn't hurt either... :)**


	10. Relocating

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Here you go, another installment to Empire Beneficiary. Just be glad I got this out, considering how my BMQ training has been pushed back AGAIN!

**Review Responses:**

**At least that's where I would write them if I had gotten any reviews on the last chapter. C'mon guys.**

* * *

Radio chatter. The noise was becoming a familiar sound for Commander Dimitri, Alyx, and the other rebels clustered in the storage area of Fort Hayes. The room was enormous, and, as Alyx looked around for the hundredth time, she realized it had to be. Rows upon row of crates had been piled inside, stockpiling everything from weapons to food. The rows had just enough of a gap for three people to stand side by side, their weapons primed and pointed towards the only door in the room.

Alyx sighed for the hundredth time since she had entered the storage room. She and the other rebels were about to make their last stand against the Combine, she felt fear gnaw away at her heart at the thought of not being able to see her family. Alyx quickly banished the thought from her mind, she knew that they had been able to send out a distress signal before the Combine destroyed their transmitter. Gordon would be on his way.

_Focus on the mission Alyx_, she reminded herself. She still had trouble believing that the Combine had been able to force them in here.

* * *

After setting off the proximity mines, Dimitri had ordered a retreat to the fort's storage area. It had taken fifteen minutes for the garrison force to safely move back to the storage area, several rebels had been lost on the way over. The Combine had kept up a ruthless pursuit, keeping up a steady stream of fire while others unleashed pulse bombs that ricocheted around corners and vaporized those unlucky enough to be in the way.

The appearance of Hunters in the corridor made the majority of the troops panic. Flachette volleys took out an entire file of troops, turning the retreat into a rout. Rebels sprinted to safety, with the line closest to the enemy turning to point their weapons at the advancing Hunters. A dozen rebel rifles opened up on the advancing Hunters, sending pulse capsules shredding through synth flesh, The small tripedal creatures let loose menacing growls and charged the rebel position, their three spindly legs enabling them to achieve great speed.

Rebel soldiers were bashed against the walls of the concrete corridors, leaving cracks in the once hardened infrastructure. The creatures continued their charge ramming full speed into several rebels, the creatures and their targets, fell to the floor as they collided in a massive entanglement of limbs.

Alyx was in the middle of the retreat, the sounds of screams and the pounding rhythm of discharging pulse-rifles was enough to produce a faint ringing sound in her ears. She stole a quick glance behind her, Overwatch soldiers started advancing as soon as the last Hunter corpse hit the ground. _We're sitting ducks here_, Alyx thought even as she continued running.

Alyx looked back again to see that the Combine soldiers were almost in range. Knowing that she had to act fast, Alyx immediately stopped sprinting. A few rebels collided into her, though luckily, they had been concentrating more on aiming their rifles than on running, so she was able to stay upright. Alyx unholstered her pistol, aimed at the nearest enemy soldier, and fired. The round tore through the target's head, killing him instantly. Alyx didn't even register the kill, she pointed at the Combine soldiers and shouted to the rebels, "Let 'em have it!"

"I heard that," one of the troops replied eagerly.

A storm of pulse fire erupted within the confines of the corridor, both Rebel and Combine. Two rebels fell when a cluster of enemy fire tore through their tac-vests and armour. The Combine, on the other hand, lost their front rank in the initial exchange of fire; with more being added in between bursts of rebel pulse rifles.

It wasn't until the Combine Elite entered the fray that Alyx order a retreat, she had no desire to play dodge ball with energy pulses. The spherical devices would vaporize any organic being on contact.

Alyx, and the rebels who had stopped to assist her, doubled back to the storage area. Alyx could see Dimitri and the rest of the rebels standing outside the entrance to the storage area. Alyx was forced to cut her observation short when the Combine Elite opened up on their retreating prey. Alyx glanced back to see the entire rear rank get hit by the barrage, their momentum sent them landing on their stomachs against the corridor. It was the last thing any of them ever felt. Alyx and the other rebels continued running, willing their muscles to carry them faster as they closed on the retreat point.

Dimitri crouched at the very centre of a defensive position, a position his soldiers had formed on his orders. His grip tightened around his pulse rifle when he noticed that the Combine were firing on Alyx and the others. Despite the sounds of automatic weapons fire, Alyx and her group continued to move forward. When they were only a few metres away from them, Dimitri ordered the others to make a hole. The formation split right down the centre, making just enough room for Alyx and the others to squeeze through in single-file.

As soon as the last rebel had ran through the gap, Dimitri and the others immediately reformed. As one, Dimitri and the others cocked their rifles, aimed at the charging Combine, and fired their weapons. The unexpected barrage was enough to kill the first line of enemy soldiers. The force of the projectiles knocking them to their feet, the last position the soldiers would ever experience.

Dimitri kept an eye on the number of soldiers in the corridor, as soon as it looked as though the entire attack force was going after them, he ordered the rear line to retreat back to Alyx's group while he and the rest continued firing.

Combine forces were relying on their vast numbers to puncture Dimitri's battle line, only the rebel's experience and discipline kept them from routing again. Though that didn't stop Dimitri's hands from shaking, he tried to steady his rifle and return fire.

The sound of the small engagement reverberated in his eardrums; the combined noise of discharging pulse capsules, empty rounds clattering to the floor, and the screams of wounded rebels and Combine was thunderous in the corridor. The noise was so great that Dimitri didn't hear the rebel over the COM.

"Sir?!" the panicked query made Dimitri snap on an active COM channel.

"Yes?" He shouted into the COM.

"Sir, we've set up a second defensive line. We're standing by for you to fall back."

"Acknowledged, be prepared to encounter heavy resistance. They're making a major push on us."

"Understood sir."

Dimitri quickly changed to an open COM channel, there was a chance the Combine could pick up the transmission but he didn't have time to encrypt the channel. "Everyone, we're falling back to the second line. Keep your weapons pointed downrange, move on my mark."

A flurry of replies came back to Dimitri, "Understood sir."

"Acknowledged Commander."

Dimitri aimed his rifle, waited a heartbeat, then fired a few rounds toward a squad of Combine Elite and shouted, "Move!"

On his orders, the rebels moved to a crouching position, they fired at the slowly advancing enemy while they backpedalled toward Alyx and her group, turning ninety degrees to their right to head down an adjoining hallway. Alyx had taken up a position just outside of the storage room, a room that was protected even more strongly than the main entrance into the fort.

A steel blast door was the first obstacle attackers would need to overcome. The door was held in place by four hydraulic locks, arranged on the corners of the door frame. The hydraulic pistons ensured for both a quick opening and a strong seal. A grid of auto turrets completed the room's protection. They had been set-up in the room on Dimitri's orders; he had taken the precaution as soon as Fort Hayes had been constructed. At the time, the Combine had had no knowledge of the installation, though Dimitri had been taught to always have a contingency plan.

"Commander," A rebel's shout cut Dimitri's observations short. The Combine were catching up to them now.

"Move back. I'll cover you," Dimitri told the others. He knew that his group was still too far away from Alyx for her group to protect them. The rebels in his group complied; they turned away from the Combine and sprinted toward the second defensive line.

The standard Combine soldiers were in the frontlines now, their desire to kill the remnants of the fort's garrison made them vulnerable to burst fire from Dimitri's rifle. Before the rest of the soldiers could react, Dimitri took out his last EMP grenade, primed it, and hurled it at the approaching Combine. The device landed in the centre of their formation, they let out panicked radio chatter as they attempt to pass the grenade back. But despite their best efforts, it went off three seconds later, emitting an EMP wave that neutralized the cybernetic systems of at least two enemy squads. The sound of flat lining bio-signs was followed by a command to fall back.

Knowing that there wasn't much time, Dimitri turned around and sprinted for Alyx's position. His muscles were twitching from excess adrenaline as he willed himself to move faster. Reaching the site in forty seconds, he immediately moved to the keypad and punched in the code that only he was aware off.

The light above the pad turned green, indicating that the proper sequence had been inputted. A metallic thud reverberated through the complex as the hydraulic pistons retracted from the blast door. The doors quickly parted, allowing the rebel garrison to move to safety.

Dimitri knew that moving to safety was often the most dangerous time for any soldier, most would be tempted to let their guard down in an attempt to move as fast as possible. With that in mind, he ordered his team to pull back in files.

"Eyes open, weapons primed!" Dimitri shouted the command, his left hand cocking his weapon.

"Understood," the general reply came from his troops.

A few tense minutes passed by, Dimitri eyes staring at a distant corner of the a hallway, the place where he expected a division of Combine forces to storm their position. When the last line was moving inside the safe zone, Dimitri knew that his soldiers had made it. Now all they had to do was defend this position and wait for reinforcements from Eagle Point.

"Commander!" The warning made Dimitri snap his head back into the hallway, he just had time to see a Combine soldier drop to his knees and fire a weapon Dimitri had never seen before.

The weapon's ammunition arced toward a rebel who was standing right in the middle of the doorway, a rebel Dimitri recognized as Desson. He shouted for Desson to move out of the way so he could close the door. Desson did just that, though he had taken only two steps when the mysterious ammunition exploded. The force of the blast was enough to blow the front rank backwards,

A bright yellow flare seemed to materialize from the explosion; through the confusion Dimitri was able to hit the door controls. The blast door sealed in a few seconds, though as Dimitri looked around, he could see that the damage had been done. Four rebels were dead.

* * *

Alyx shuddered at the memory, she guessed the weapon had fired some sort of proximity bomb, it had detonated only couple of metres away from the closest rebel. Sighing again to try to block out the memory, Alyx checked her pistol and waited inside the storage room. Combine radio chatter could be heard right outside the room, leaving Alyx to believe that another breach was inevitable.

Dimitri had no doubt that reinforcements were on the way, Alyx just hoped that Gordon and Barney could get here in time.

* * *

**Its moving from person to person. I don't know about you but I think its gonna be awesome when they all finally intersect.**


	11. Impossible Odds

**Finally got this chapter done, I was planning on making it longer but I just couldn't resist the cliff-hanger!**

**Kudos to solidman for the review, there's something about getting reviews that fuels my writing. **

* * *

"Bravo Team is in position."

"Charlie Team standing by."

Barney's COM unit crackled to life as Miranda and Greg reported their readiness. Barney flashed them an acknowledgement, he had led his group in-between Bravo and Charlie teams; an area with grass tall enough to obscure he sight of Barney's group. Charlie team was off to Barney's left, Miranda had led the team up on top of the ridge; the elevation provided an excellent view for the team's snipers. Bravo Team was lined up to Barney's right, Greg had taken his group to an area with dense foliage, it had the advantage of allowing the team to hide from the Combine. The rebels in Bravo Team were equipped with the prototype assault rifles. The new ammunition included 5.56mm Titanium bullets, as well as a pulse-bomb attachment under the rifle's barrel. Despite the impressive capabilities Barney was worried, this would be the first field test for the rifles, and if they malfunctioned in the middle of a fire-fight then the rebels would be in serious trouble

Shaking his head, Barney took in a few deep breaths to concentrate while he surveyed the enemy formation. Combine squads were still pouring into Fort Hayes, so many, in fact, that the Combine numbers outside had dwindled from a battalion's worth, to only a few companies. The units remaining outside were formed around the entrance to Fort Hayes, from Barney's position it looked as though all the Hunters had been sent inside.

Barney made sure his COM was still set on security frequency Omicron Five, the secure channel had been created just two years after the Borealis' destruction. The code was set with a random rotating frequency, this meant that any eavesdroppers would be unable to break through the security lockout to listen in on the conversation. Barney knew first hand how devastating it was for enemy forces to intercept COM traffic. A bitter defeat had been the result of Combine eavesdropping on communication, that incident had been about eleven years ago but it had left a scar in Barney's memory.

Barney growled at the distraction. _Focus_, he commanded himself. Pausing to take a deep breath, he spoke into the COM, "Charlie Team, report."

"Charlie Leader here. Enemy soldiers are grouped in a loose formation, mostly the standard soldiers, though there are a few squads of Elites. They have sentries formed up in a line, but judging by their position I'd say their not expecting an attack," Miranda's voice responded after a short pause.

"Estimated strength?" Barney asked as a plan started forming in his mind.

"Lead, I count 400, say again, 400 troops. Orders?"

"Standby," Barney said

"Acknowledged, standing by."

"Alpha One to Bravo Team."

"Bravo here sir," Greg responded.

"Greg, I'm going to need you to assault the enemy's right flank on my command. Hit them as hard as you can."

"I wouldn't do it any other way. We're awaiting your signal." Greg responded with full eagerness.

"Charlie Leader, I want you to cover Bravo Team when they move in on the right. Understood?"

"Copy Lead, standing by."

Barney squelched the COM and turned his attention to his own squad. Everyone looked relatively calm, all except Gordon. He looked as though he was ready to charge straight inside the Fort. Barney knew he had to act fast before his friend did something rash. He activated his COM, "Bravo and Charlie: hit them!"

Barney's statement was immediately followed by the sounds of discharging assault rifles as Bravo Team stormed in. The prototype rifles cut through Combine armour with ease, theirs numbers dwindled rapidly as Bravo unleashed fire from both the prone and kneeling position. Charlie team let loose a volley of fire right after that, the prototype pulse rounds acted like cluster bombs. The rounds themselves would kill their intended targets, but the pulse bombs inside the rounds would escape just before impact. The miniature energy bombs would vaporize anything within a metre radius.

The Combine were on the alert now, the rest of their right flank moved to engage Bravo Team. They fired back at an enemy they could barley see, the dense foliage covering Bravo Team meant that it was impossible to pinpoint the location of an individual soldier. Still, the Combine kept up their assault. The elite gave orders from the rear, sending soldiers to harass Bravo Team with burst fire from their Pulse Rifles.

Charlie Team opened fire again, Miranda had split her group into two and assigned each different targets. One group would continue to fire on the Elite while the other would cover Bravo Team. This tactic riddled the enemy's right flank, promoting disarray and confusion in such number that the soldiers broke apart their formation. They were on the verge of panic.

Alpha Team continued to observe the engagement being waged before them. Barney, especially, watched the enemy formation closely; he had to wait until he ordered his group to attack, his entire plan hinged on one event. It was a dangerous game, but the reward would be well worth it.

Barney couldn't help but grin, there was a breakup in the Combine's formation. With their right flank near collapse, the other soldiers were moving in to reinforce that position. Such a move left them vulnerable to Alpha Team, and it was something Barney took advantage of. He turned back to the others and shouted, "Follow me!"

The rebels answered with cocking rifles as they fell into step behind Barney. The sound of Alpha Team's charge was obscured by Combine radio traffic, Charlie Team's steady sniper fire, and the constant pounding of automatic rifles. It made it all the more easier for Alpha Team to move within two hundred metres of the Combine. Quick hand gestures brought the rebels into a widely spaced crescent formation.

Alpha Team quickly broke into two man fire-teams, the individuals in the team were only about six metres apart. This type of configuration would funnel any approaching soldiers to the centre of the formation. This was the formation's greatest strength, but, ironically, it was also its greatest weakness. Too often Barney had seen the centre rank panic when under fire, soldiers would lose their unit cohesion. Eventually the formation would tear itself apart and the soldiers who broke apart would be slaughtered.

It was for this reason why Barney and Gordon stood at the very centre of the formation. Gordon shouldered his weapon, aimed, and squeezed off a burst. The weapon's three round cycle punctured the armour of two Combine soldiers. Their bodies fell to the ground with a thud. Using that as a signal, the rest of Alpha Team opened fire after that. The pulse rounds silenced more than a file of enemy troops.

An entire division of Combine had been annihilated before the surviving soldiers realized that a new threat had appeared on the battlefield. Those under immediate threat turned to engage Barney's group.

The Combine outside Fort Hayes were in trouble, they were under fire from all sides. Alpha Team's crescent formation brought fire from a 180 degree arc and Bravo Team had already employed a similar formation. To make matters worse, the Combine were now packed tightly side by side. Rounds that would usually be misses were wounding enemies who were unfortunate enough to be standing beside the rounds' true targets.

Barney saw an opportunity to inflict more damage on the Combine, he quickly snapped on his COM, "Miranda, split your snipers into three groups. I want supporting fire for us and Bravo, the last is for the enemy's centre."

"Acknowledged, making it happen." Miranda shouted over the steady crack, crack of sniper fire.

Barney didn't have to wait more than twenty seconds before he saw a cluster of soldiers vaporize in front of him. With the Combine now tightly-packed together, the small pulse bombs inside the sniper rounds could inflict even more casualties.

It was hard to say how long the battle had been waged, but before long Barney was leading his entire taskforce against what was left of the enemies' rearguard. A squad of Elite were attempting to fall back into Fort Hayes, but quick burst fire ensured that the wayward Combine never reached their destination.

Barney slung his pulse rifle around his back as he surveyed the destruction his group had inflicted. Hundreds of Combine corpses littered the entrance to Fort Hayes, their bodies packed into a large square. Surprisingly, the rebels hadn't suffered very many casualties. Bravo Team had taken the brunt of the damage of course; twenty rebels lost their lives in the fierce engagement with ten others being wounded. Barney knew the numbers would have been higher if the team hadn't been concealed behind thick vegetation.

Shaking the thought off, Barney reminded himself that there was still at least half a battalion's worth of enemy troops still inside Fort Hayes. He keyes his COM and said, "Listen up! Charlie Team I need you to stay behind and make sure the exit is clear."

"Roger that," Miranda replied.

"Everyone else," Barney paused as the others turned to him, "Advance! Head inside, three at a time. Spread out and stay alert!"

A wave of replies came back to Barney with the general consensus being, "Understood squad leader."

Barney, Gordon, and Greg formed the front line of the formation as they made their way through the fort's concrete hallways. The rest of the task force fell in step behind them. Everyone walked at a slow pace, rebels took the time required for ghost walking. Their movement was time-consuming, as ghost walking demanded that soldiers place their heel on the ground first before rolling the rest of their weight onto the foot. The idea was to mask one's approach; a skilled ghost walker could move through a twig-infested forest and never make a sound.

With their weapon butts still in their shoulders but with the barrels pointed at the ground, the rebels made their way through the base. The sight of bullet holes, spent shell casings blood splattered walls, and corpses, both Human and Combine, came to be a familiar sight for Barney's group as they continued on ahead.

The team had move now more than a hundred metres when a distinctive noise could be heard, _"Status?"_

_"Targets have fled behind sealed doors. Hunter division has been eradicated; explosives are required to complete primary objective."_

_"Understood, dispatch Squad Three to retrieve explosive ordnance from Sector Three."_

Barney stopped dead in the hallway, logically the Combine would have left any explosives with the rearguard. He flicked on his COM, "Charlie Team, come in."

"We're receiving," Miranda responded.

"Be on guard, the Combine are sending a squad outside. Hit them fast and hard, I don't want them reporting back to the rest of their unit."

"Consider it done." Miranda replied before she cut the channel.

Barney switched the channel, "Greg what kind of explosives have you got?"

"Proximity mines, satchel charges, and the last of the EMP charges; everything a soldier needs."

Barney couldn't help but grin at Greg's words, "Tell your squad to start setting up those explosives at the end of the hallway. We're going to set up an ambush."

"Understood."

It took the better part of twenty minutes for Bravo Team to lay out explosives and EMP charges along the corridor. Since the hallway they were in was connected to the main corridor, there wouldn't be any problems if the corridor collapsed, something Barney doubted as Fort Hayes had been constructed to withstand Combine bombardment.

While Bravo Team had set up the explosives, Gordon had led Alpha Team through the adjacent corridor to the an area just outside of the Combine's position. Barney had ordered the team to stay there while Bravo set up the charges. Barney's plan called for Alpha Team to split in two. Red Team was led by Gordon while Blue Team was led by Barney. It would be Red Team's job to be the first to engage the Combine, the idea was to draw their enemies' attention enough to make the Combine pursue Red Team once they disengaged.

From there Red Team would fall back to a designated waypoint. To keep Red Team from being shot in the back, Blue Team would be standing by to engage the pursuing enemy forces. Of course, when Blue Team disengaged, Gordon's squad would be on station to provide assistance. This process was repeated until the Combine were in range of the explosives. Bravo would then detonate the charges and make there were no survivors. After that, both teams would storm the Combine's position and nullify any remaining opposition. The idea being that any surviving rebels of the fort would assist in the final engagement.

"Bravo One to Team Leader," Greg's voice whispered on the COM.

"Go ahead."

"Charges have been set, ready to detonate."

"Understood, stand by for my command."

"Acknowledged, standing by."

"Blue One to Red One."

"I'm here," Gordon's deep voice replied back.

Barney could sense his anger at the delay, but he didn't press. "Everything is set, we're in position. Ready when you are."

"Understood, we're already moving in."

The channel had barley been cut before Barney heard the thunderous roar of gun-fire.

"Fire in the hole!" The shout blared into Red Team's COM as a lone rebel threw a shrapnel grenade into the front rank of Combine troops.

"Squad fall back!" Gordon shouted into his COM as he continued to stand his ground,

"What about you!" A rebel shouted back.

"I'll be right behind you."

The rebel gave a reluctant nod in return before rejoining his retreating comrades. Gordon made sure his squad was gone before resuming his assault. He continued to double-tap his rifle as he zigzagged away from the Combine, enemy fire passing only a few inches away from his body. Luckily for Gordon, the Combine were bunched up into tight clusters, only the front rank could fire their weapons. The others couldn't without fear of friendly fire.

Still, the amount of rounds being fired was enough to make Gordon fall back. He quickly sprinted down the corridor to his squad, where the only thing visible from this distance was a vague outline of Red Team. Barney gave him a nod as he passed by Blue Team's location, he continued to run with such speed that he reached his team in just under two minutes.

By that time, the Combine had started pouring down the corridor. A fierce fire-fight ensued for Blue Team, with the Combine being able to put more of their soldiers in the front rank now that they had entered a wider hallway. No-one was expecting such a manoeuvre; the consequences were immense for Blue Team.

A third of the team was hit within two minutes, the Combine soldiers were willing to stand there and risk being hit by enemy fire if it meant that they could fire off an accurate shot. The tactics may be suicidal, but the Combine's goal was to instil fear into their enemy, and they were successful. Blue Team retreated before Barney had given the order.

Gordon quickly moved to help his friend; he waved his squad forward when he had taken a few steps forward, "Move out!"

Gordon didn't even look took see if they were following before he continued on ahead. As he passed by the rebels who had retreated from Blue Team, he fired his pistol at the ceiling and roared, "Get back in position!"

Gordon quickly reached Barney's side and the two held their position while the remaining rebels formed up beside them. Forming back into one unit, Alpha Team engaged the Combine again. It didn't take Gordon long to realize that they wouldn't be able to fall back without being slaughtered. Gordon looked over at Barney, the two shared a look before Barney nodded grimly and spoke into his COM, "Greg?"

"Read you loud and clear sir."

"Greg, we can't fall back. You're going to have to detonate the charges now."

"I can't do that!"

"We're already clear of the explosives, go ahead."

"But sir, the whole corridor could collapse. You'll be killed!"

"And if we continue arguing about it, the Combine will kill us. Detonate them!"

"Yes, sir." Greg grimly responded after a long pause. He sent a signal to the explosives through his COM system.

There was a microsecond pause before an orange and yellow flare erupted at the end of the hallway. Thick black smoke drifted towards Bravo Team, limiting visibility dramatically. The sound of electronic screams and queried radio chatter, let Greg know that the majority of the Combine had been destroyed.

Greg keyed on his COM, "Barney? Dr. Freeman?"

Static was his only reply.

In desperation he called out again, "Alpha Team?! Anyone!"

"Any sign of Barney or Freeman?" A rebel from his squad asked after a tense silence.

"Negative," Greg said with a heavy-heart as the realization struck him, "I think we lost them."

* * *

**Two chapters from now, this story is gonna be freakin' awesome. Just wait! Though, hopefully you think it is already.**


	12. A Failed Pledge

****

Here's the next chapter.

**Thanks to Kiefer for both the review and words of guidance, they helped me shape this chapter into the great success I hope all of you think it is.**

* * *

"_Any sign of Barney or Freeman?" A rebel from his squad asked after a tense silence._

"_Negative," Greg said with a heavy-heart as the realization struck him, "I think we lost them."_

"Not yet," Gordon whispered to himself as the radio traffic came through his barley-functioning COM.

The smoke in the corridor had thinned enough that Gordon could see Barney and the rest of Alpha squad lying near him. After making a quick check, he knew they were still alive. He turned back to see if Bravo Team was still in the corridor, but the room was vacant. Gordon had no doubt that they were moving to engage the remaining Combine. If Alpha Team didn't provide assistance, then Bravo didn't stand a chance.

Gordon knelt down next to Barney and gently shook his friend. He groaned in response as his eyes cracked open. His gaze swept around, only to get a blurry image of Gordon Freeman. "Gordon?" Barney shook his head to try and clear the dizziness, "Boy, do I have a monster headache."

Gordon grinned before waking up the rest of the squad. With the exception of some mild to serious burns, the team was in good order. Within five minutes, Alpha Team had grabbed their weapons, which had scattered during the explosion, and were ready to move out. Gordon took point, Alpha Team falling in step behind, as he led the way to the remaining Combine forces.

* * *

Bravo Team ran down the hallway, their gear making slapping sounds against their bodies as they ran toward the remnants of the Combine attack force. Driven by a thirst for vengeance and a desire to rescue any surviving rebels, Bravo Team used their burst of adrenaline to draw in more speed as they rushed towards their final battle.

At the speeds they were moving it only took them a few minutes before they could see what was left of the Combine assault force. Greg made his team halt as he scouted their formation. He took a glance in their location and he could see that the Combine were already attacking the storage room. He couldn't tell if they had breached the gates or not

Greg motioned for his team to move up towards him. He noticed that two of the rebels still had some grenades left on their belts. He pointed to them and said "Throw your last shrapnel grenades on my mark." He motioned to the rest and said, "Get ready to move in after."

The rebels nodded in understanding, the appointed two taking their grenades into their hands while the rest held their rifles at the ready. Greg unhooked his last two grenades from his belt. He steadied his twitching arm with a deep breath. He threw his grenades with a snarl and said, "Now!"

The words had barley left his throat before the others followed, the spike grenades arced toward the Combine formation. The Combine's rearguard was just starting to raise his weapon when Greg's grenades detonated. Their payload impaled a few of the soldiers, not even their heavy layered body armour could protect them from the deadly projectiles.

More of the Combine were alerted by the screams from the rear, they were in the process of turning around when three more of the shrapnel grenades exploded in the centre of the enemy formation. The Combine seemed dazed at the unexpected attack. Knowing the Combine's confusion would last for only a couple of seconds, Greg cocked his weapon and motioned for the rest of his team to move in. "Storm the front, kill them all!"

The rebels shouted in approval, they moved into the corridor while the Combine were still fighting off their confusion. Automatic fire was unleashed into the Combine's midst before they could recover, pulse capsules shredded through the opposition as the rounds punctured the enemy's thick armour. Blood could've passed off for wallpaper as the crimson splattering coated the walls.

Even as their front rank continued to decline, the rest of the Combine assault force had recovered from their momentary lapse and they were already returning fire. The sounds of constant weapons fire was enough to make it seem as through a thunderstorm had erupted in the corridor. Greg could already feel a ringing pulsate in his ear as he saw charging rebels fall down to the horde of enemy fire. Greg didn't know if they could win this battle, while the rebels had defied the odds in making it this far it seemed as though they could go no further. Greg growled in frustration at his thoughts as he loaded another clip.

_This war ends right here. And I haven't fought for twelve years to watch the Combine win, _Greg thought to himself as he continued firing.

* * *

Though his glasses were slightly dusty, Gordon had no trouble seeing the Combine force. Years of soldier experience let Gordon instantly estimate the distance between them to be a little over sixty metres. Even from that distance it was easy to tell that the Combine were already engaging rebel forces. If their stance wasn't any indication, then the sight of muzzle flashes more than made up for it.

Gordon pointed to the group and shouted to his team, "Rebels down there need help now! Alpha Team with me!" A quick up and down motion with his fist signalled the others to run, something they did with full eagerness.

Gordon didn't know if it was the knowledge that this was the last battle, or if it was just the sight of his companions in distress but he ran incredibly fast. His team had been in weapon's range even before Gordon had clearly identified the Combine, but he felt an urge for melee combat. Doing something that he hadn't done in years, Gordon dropped his pulse rifle and pulled out his crowbar. Just before he smashed into the Combine's flank Gordon waved the others forward one last time and roared, "CHARGE!" His voice so loud it could have been heard during a thunderstorm.

The Combine seemed to cringe at the sound, though the soldiers at their right flank were smart enough to turn toward the source of the sound. Gordon couldn't see their faces through their blue goggled helmets but he had no doubt they were fearful of his approach. They were so stunned at the sight of someone willing to engage them in melee combat that none of them were even able to fire off a shot before Gordon slammed into their lines. His crowbar, which had been raised during his charge, crashed into the nearest two soldiers as he slashed the weapon across with all of his strength. He continued to swing the crowbar with expert skill, sending the hook of the weapon ramming through armour and flesh as soldier after soldier fell to Gordon's onslaught.

The rest of Alpha Team had caught up with Gordon at this point, Barney and the others used their pulse rifles as clubs, they brought the metal frames slamming against the helmets of their foes, sending them sprawling to the ground. The Combine soldiers were panicking at this point, what was left of their biological sense demanded that they flee their crazed enemies while their cybernetic side demanded that they fight. Their cybernetic side won out, though it couldn't help squash the echo of fear left within the soldiers, and it was that fear that prevented them from fighting effectively.

* * *

"Cease fire!" Greg screamed the order as soon as he saw a flicker of orange armour within the Combine's formation. He felt a brief surge of happiness when he saw Gordon and the rest of Alpha Team assaulting the Combine's flank. He had stopped firing out of fear of friendly fire, though he wasn't about to stay out of the fight.

Being a great leader meant leading by example, so Greg ran at the Combine while he spoke over his shoulder, "Close the distance!"

Bravo Team did just that. The specialized heavy infantry squad moved to assault their enemy in the most extreme way possible, engaging them in hand to hand combat. Bravo Team collided into the enemies lines with a clash, the group brought their weapons against any armoured figure they could see. The engagement turned into a hacking frenzy, even with the Combine switching to melee tactics they weren't able to beat back the storm of rebels. Their cybernetic enhancements gave them impressive power but their thick armour restricted their mobility, and so they fell to their enemies.

Gordon had no idea how long the engagement lasted, it had gotten to the point where his arms felt incredibly weak, the slightest vibration from the crowbar, as he continued to hack away at Combine, tested his endurance. But it wasn't long before the last Combine soldier fell, his helmet cracked from Gordon's savage strike. Gordon holstered his crowbar as he tried to catch his breath, he could feel his heart thumping with a frenzy. If he hadn't just stopped fighting he would have thought he was having a heart-attack.

The sight of stacked boxes and unwounded rebels let Gordon know that the Combine had managed to breach the blast door. _The storage room_, Gordon thought with wide-eyes as he immediately started searching for Alyx. His gaze swept across the room, he only had time to locate a few rebels before Gordon felt someone envelop him in a fierce hug. He turned around in the embrace to be face to face with Alyx, she looked up into his eyes and smiled as she said, "Hi."

Gordon was about to say how sorry he was for suggesting she stay here when Alyx brought her lips crashing down on his. The kiss was purely passionate as the two revelled in the knowledge that both of them were safe. As soon as Alyx pulled away Gordon asked Barney to contact Eagle Point. Knowing Alyx was safe awakened the worry that Gordon had tried to silence during the mission, the worry of Kate's well-being. He knew that his daughter was as resilient as Alyx, maybe even more so, but there was always a fear living inside him. The fear that he would lose someone to the Combine, whether it be his family or one of his friends.

Gordon looked over at Barney to see him furrowing his brow in frustration. It was a look Gordon knew all too well, something was wrong. "Barney, what happened?"

Wordlessly Barney played the audio over an open COM channel. Gordon's fear grew as he listened.

"This message is from Eagle Point at transmitter 324, go……Combine forces have breached our defences. We've sustained heavy casualties, our squad leader is down. Be advised……shock troops are swarming the area…..numbers are unknown."

Gordon strained his ears to pick up more but the message only repeated. Fear chewed away at him, he knew that Barney had made Kate the squad leader. His very essence became composed of worry as the words "squad leader is down" kept echoing inside him.

Fear triggered a flood of adrenaline as the chemical gave way to the fight or flight response. Gordon wasted no more time, he sprinted out of the fort, the drive to fight echoing in his mind.

Barney watched his friend move with a speed only a family member in distress could provide. He quickly warned Charlie Team to hold their fire outside, lest they accidentally kill Gordon. Alyx asked him what happened, since she didn't have a COM system she hadn't heard the disturbing message.

"Your daughter's been injured." Barney said as his voice shook with worry. "Combine shock troops assaulted Eagle Point while we came to rescue you. Someone recorded an automated message to let us know. I'm sorry." Barney looked to the side, fear enveloped him at the thought of his protégé being killed. He told Alyx that Kate had been injured, though in truth the words "squad leader is down" could mean anything from incapacitation to death.

"You trained her?" Alyx said as she looked at him.

Barney wasn't sure if she was angry or not but he had to be honest with her so he said, "Yes." When he saw Alyx's tension ease somewhat he frowned, "I thought you didn't want her being trained?"

"I didn't at first, but that was because I didn't want Kate to see the things I did. I never really had a childhood growing up. I just wanted to protect her. I should've known she wouldn't listen, she's too stubborn."

Alyx paused for a moment longer before she ran in the same direction Gordon had. Barney thought about stopping her but he knew he'd never succeed even if he wanted to. Still, he looked at Dimitri and the other rebels of Fort Hayes and ordered them to provide assistance. He knew his own troops were about to collapse and he himself was sporting a couple of bullet wounds. As much as he wanted to run to protect Kate, he had to admit that his age seemed to be finally catching up with him.

* * *

Ryan shouldered his weapon as the laboratory's lift took him down toward his wounded squad mates. A large number of shock troops had been killed but none of the rebels knew how many there were so Ryan had ordered three fire-teams to sweep every section of the base and to radio for assistance if they found any more enemy troops.

Eventually the lift came to a stop; Ryan stepped off and was immediately greeted by the sight of wounded comrades. Their moans had carried all the way up the elevator shaft and Ryan had cringed at the sound but it was even worse to see so many of his friends in distress with his own eyes. While Ryan was concerned for them, there was one person in particular he had to see. He moved to the nearest medic and asked where he could find Kate. The medic responded by pointing to the far corner, Ryan thanked him before heading in that direction.

Kate was laid out on a small cot, the once white material was now a light shade of red from all the blood still flowing from her body. Ryan was greatly disturbed by the sight, he would have thought that the medics would have stopper her from bleeding by now. He noticed that two medics were clustered around her leg. "What's her condition?" Ryan asked when he was only a few feet away.

One of the medics turned to him, a look of sadness etched on his face as he said, "The pulse capsule that shot her in the leg severed one of her arteries, there's nothing I can do."

"What about arterial clamping?" Ryan demanded desperately.

The medic placed his hand on his shoulder and said, "There's not enough of her artery left to salvage."

Ryan felt moisture gather in his eyes, "B-but We can…..there's gotta be…….We can't let her die."

"We've done all we can, I'm afraid I have to tend to the others. I'm sorry." The medic whispered his last two words with a sadness that matched Ryan's own.

"Hey Ryan," Kate whispered weakly when he was right next to her.

"Hi," Ryan said as he looked down at her, "Medic says you're going to be fine. You just need to hang in there."

Kate offered a weak smile, "You're lying."

Ryan's fake smile fell at her words and he found a tear slip down his face, "Maybe so, but you can't give up. I won't let you."

"I never give up Ryan, but I've got a bad feeling about this one."

Ryan didn't what to say to that, he felt incredibly sad. He always had a feeling that he felt something for Kate and seeing her in such pain seemed to bring that feeling out into the open. Just as Ryan was about to say something, anything, he heard the elevator stop at the bottom of the lab. He looked over to see Dr. Freeman scanning his eyes back and forth. Ryan caught his attention and shouted for him to come.

Gordon quickly moved to his daughter's side when he saw Ryan calling him over. He felt his heart shatter at the sight of his daughter in such pain, the fact that Ryan looked the saddest he'd ever been told Gordon that his daughter was in trouble. "Kate," Gordon said as he stroked her cheek, "it's me."

"Dad?" The word was whispered with such desperation that Gordon couldn't help but shed a few tears.

"I'm here honey," Gordon said as he grabbed her raised hand, "and I'm never letting go."

"It's warm in here, but I feel so cold." Kate voice faded out as her eyes started to flutter.

Gordon squeezed her hand, "Stay with me Kate, stay with me."

"I'm trying Dad," Kate paused for a moment as a feeling of fear consumed her, "Did you save Mom?"

"Yes, honey, she's fine. You'll be able to see her later."

Kate smiled despite the pain, glad to know that her parents were safe. She looked over at her father, "Dad, I hope you don't see this as a failure. I don't."

"We'll have a chance to talk again when your better Kate." Gordon said, a feeling of dread rising inside him.

"Dad, I love you."

Gordon opened his mouth to respond when he felt the grip on his hand loosen. He squeezed her hand to try to get her attention, but she didn't respond. "Kate? Kate!" Gordon screamed in defiance as he hugged his daughter, tears cascaded down his face as the fear turned into mind-numbing sadness. He still tried to provoke a response from her, but there was none.

His daughter was dead.

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**That is so sad, I'm not gonna lie. **

**Reviews ftw! Please!**


	13. Lust for Vengeance

****

Chapter 13, awesome.

**Special thanks to Kiefer for you review of the last chapter, glad to hear you liked it.**

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"Fire Team to Ryan."

The words were barley heard to Ryan, even though his COM-equipped helmet was still on his head. He could only watch Kate's body in horror, his mind too hazy and numb with grief to answer the COM.

Making an attempt to pry his eyes off Kate's body, Ryan looked up to see tears fall down Gordon's face. He continued to hold Kate's body, tears flowing from his eyes with just as much force as a faucet on full. Ryan knew that his feeling were only a hint of what Gordon was experiencing and, for him, the feeling was just as bad as losing the rest of his friends to the Combine.

"Fire Team to Ryan!"

The COM seemed to reverberate from the desperation in the transmission and it was just enough to get Ryan to reply back. Finding his voice and speaking with what little emotion he had left, Ryan said, "Report."

"The rest of the teams have swept the whole base," The rebel reported in between heavy breaths, "We've confirmed that the last of the enemy soldiers are held up in the secondary command bunker in sector three. We've contained them there. Permission to move in."

"Not until I get there," Ryan said. He started to move toward the elevator when he saw Gordon sprint past him. "Gordon! Gordon!" Ryan tried to get the man's attention, but it was futile.

Ryan moved in pursuit but, by the time he reached the elevator, it was already halfway up. _Oh no_, he thought with a helplessness very few could sympathise with.

The instant the words: _enemy soldiers_ and _sector three_ were processed by his brain, Gordon's intense sadness turned into a blinding fury. He gently placed Kate back on the cot before he stood up.

If anyone had looked into Gordon's eyes they would've noticed that the normally vibrant green appeared as a threatening dark sage. One look into Gordon's eyes and it was easy to tell that they promised bloodshed.

Without even thinking, Gordon followed his instincts and moved toward the elevator. He could hear Ryan shouting his name but he never even slowed down. Even though his muscles were already fatigued, it seemed as though his body was feeding off his hatred. Vengeance was the only thing Gordon could think of, it was the only thing he could feel, and so it was the only thing he could accomplish.

Five minutes later, the lift came to a halt. Gordon was already moving, his legs carrying him to sector three. He willed himself to move faster, he knew that he was pushing himself to the breaking point but, at this point, he didn't even care. Gordon sprinted the thirty metre distance to sector three in under a minute. He could see a small squad of rebels clustered around a side door, their weapons pointed toward the entrance.

As Gordon drew closer, the sound of electronic conversation could be heard from the other side of the door. The confirmation was all Gordon needed as he moved toward the side entrance of the secondary command bunker. He was so focused on the door that he didn't hear the rebel squad protesting his movement. Only when the fire team leader grabbed his arm did Gordon look at the young soldier.

The rebel visibly recoiled when Gordon looked at him, but he still found the courage to challenge him. "Dr. Freeman you can't go in there. The last of the Combine soldiers are inside."

"I know," Gordon spoke through gritted teeth, "and I'm going in."

"If you're so inclined to fight them then you might want to wait until Ryan gets here." The rebel said to him when Gordon took a few more steps forward. "The rest of us will be moving in simultaneously then. Besides, you don't even have any thermal goggles, you won't be able to see them."

Gordon turned back to the rebel and held out his hand, "Then give me yours. I'm going in. Alone."

"Why are you doing this?"

Gordon almost snarled as his anger grew at the rebel's query, "They killed Kate."

The rebel's eyes widened in shock, he shook his head with grief before handing over his pair of thermal goggles. "I'm sorry."

Gordon pulled the goggles over his head as he moved towards the door. The thermal feed activated with a hum when Gordon flicked the activation switch, his surroundings instantly changed into a variety of colour patterns. Gordon keyed in the code at a nearby keypad before storming through, crowbar in hand.

As soon as he was inside, the thermal feed morphed into a purple and black background. The only thing that captured Gordon's attention were the five figures showing up as green and yellow on the thermal feed. They looked as though they were staring directly at him, their weapons were only just starting to be raised in his direction.

Not wanting to give them a chance to fire, Gordon charged at the nearest enemy figure and stabbed his crowbar through his target with all of the strength his rage provided. Through the thermal feed Gordon could see a small black spot where the figure's heart should be, a clear indication that the weapon had punctured the soldier's armour.

Gordon quickly twisted the crowbar and pulled the weapon out of the dead soldier. Before the corpse had a chance to collapse Gordon was already switching targets. He slashed his weapon across the helmet of his second victim, inflicting more than enough damage to kill the soldier.

Gordon's first attack had been so swift and decisive that the first two corpses seemed to fall simultaneously, a loud thud led to a soft echo inside the confines of the room. With their two companions down, the remaining three had retreated to the far side of the room. Their rifles were firmly entrenched into their shoulders at this point and they wasted no time in opening fire. But rather than retreat as the shock troops expected their enemy too, Gordon went on the offensive.

Moving straight through the gun-fire Gordon let out a growl as he hacked away at the two enemies he believed to be protecting the leader. The two grunted in pain, though their armour had absorbed the majority of the impact. The two shock troops were about to fire off another burst when Gordon struck again. He performed the same manoeuvre again, but this time he aimed for their helmets. His strikes were nothing short of pure savagery and they were more than enough to utterly destroy the commander's guards.

Gordon slowly moved toward the last shock troop, Gordon wasn't exactly sure how he knew that the last enemy soldier was the commander. Though to Gordon, how he knew was of no importance at the moment. When Gordon was within five metres of the soldier, he saw the shock troop draw a combat knife from his utility belt. Just as Gordon wondered what the enemy combatant could possibly hope to accomplish with a 12 inch blade he noticed that the troop's posture indicated that he bent on throwing the knife.

Moving swiftly, Gordon used the hook of the crowbar on the target's left foot. He pulled the soldier off his feet, leaving the knife to clatter to the ground. With a roar to vent out all of his rage, Gordon slammed the hook of the weapon down on the downed soldier's chest. A spray of blood emitting from the wound signified a hit.

Gordon revelled in all the satisfaction that vengeance could provide, though his satisfaction quickly turned to unpleasantness when he realized that a sharp pain was coming from his chest. Deactivating his thermal goggles and looking down at the affected area let Gordon know why; he'd been shot in the chest by at least seven bullets during his charge. A violent cough allowed a flow of crimson blood to come out of his mouth, Gordon had had his share of wounds during the war. But this one was the worst so far.

His crowbar fell from his grip when his hands started to feel weak. Gordon was quick to realize that one of the bullets must have penetrated his suit and puncture a vital organ. He fell to his knees as blood flowed from both his wounds and his mouth, the rebel fire-team moved inside not long after with Ryan on point. It didn't take the rebels long to realize that Gordon was the only one still alive in the room.

Just as the rebels started moving toward him, Gordon saw a ring of white light engulf his senses. Right before he collapsed on the floor, Gordon felt the familiar sense of teleportation; the feeling of his molecules being broken apart and the fused together.

Gordon opened his eyes, expecting to see himself in the Lab, but instead he found himself in the presences of a tall black hooded figure. "Who are you?" Gordon spoke, for some reason he felt as though he had been healed.

"How long has it been in your temporal plane, for you to have forgotten us already Dr. Freeman?"

That cold voice reminded Gordon that he knew this being. He searched his memory to try and place it. Eventually the realization struck him, "The Viscount?"

Even though the figure's face was completely obscured by the black cloak encasing their body, the creature's orange eyes let Gordon know that they were pleased he remembered.

"Correct. We have a request to make of you, Dr. Freeman."

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**Now the plot is unfolding in a way I bet you never expected. Review and let me know how I did. Please? This magic word better start working.**


	14. Every Man has a Price

**I apoligize in advance for the short chapter, but after realizing that I haven't uploaded for a long time. I figured it would be good to let you know that I haven't abandoned this fanfic.**

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"And what might that be?" Gordon asked, curiosity edged in his tone. To say it was interesting that omnipotent entities like the Viscount would require help from an outsider was an understatement.

"We require your assistance. We know you have a past history with slave 265, classification Eldritch. You were there during his sentencing after all."

"What about him?" Gordon couldn't help but growl in anger as he posed the query. Being under the service of the G-Man was something he was trying to forget.

He has escaped from his confinement by a group of primitives who have enlisted his help." The Viscount's eyes seemed to flash as he spoke. "His actions have gone beyond any known established protocols, disciplinary actions no longer apply. He must be destroyed."

"You want me to do this? Can't you just do that yourself?" Gordon asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

The Viscount seemed to hesitate before answering, something that unnerved Gordon greatly. "Slave 265 has surrounded himself with a disruption field that prevents us from interfering. Your task is to deactivate this field, we will take it from there." The Viscount's claws shimmered slightly as he spoke the last sentence. Gordon didn't need to be an M.I.T graduate to know that this entity was barley containing its rage.

"And if I refuse?" Gordon asked.

The Viscount locked its orange eyes on Gordon before standing to its full height in its chosen form. The entity towered above Gordon as it stopped within four metres from him. "That would be a mistake Dr. Freeman, should you refuse we would be forced to transport you back to your previous location. Your wounds would no longer be healed and our calculations indicate a 25 percent chance of survival, though your species has defied the odds before.

Gordon growled in frustration at the manipulation, "What would happen if I accept?"

"You would accomplish the task and then be sent to where you belong, any wounds you sustain would be healed during transport."

Gordon scoffed at the choices, he opened his mouth to ask for transportation back home when The Viscount spoke again, "We would also be willing to revive your offspring."

Gordon closed his mouth instantly, his former request dying in his throat at the Viscount's words. "You'd be willing to revive Kate?"

"Yes, if that is what it will take to get your assistance than that is what we will do. Protocol normally doesn't allow such interference, but interference is what led to the death of your offspring in the first place."

Gordon stayed silent, his mind absorbing the information the Viscount had fed into him. His only fear was of losing Alyx, but he knew that she would accept the offer if she were in his position. Locking his eyes with the strange entity Gordon said, "I'll accept, on one condition."

The Viscount seemed to be genuinely amused at his boldness, "What would that be Doctor Freeman?"

"The complete eradication of any Combine still on Earth."

The cloaked entity didn't hesitate to answer, "We cannot accommodate you."

Gordon's green eyes went ablaze at the words, he wanted to say that if the Viscount expected his help than they had better offer him something in return. But he never had the chance. "…at least not directly," The Viscount spoke, interrupting Gordon' thoughts.

"Not directly?" Gordon asked in confusion.

"We will instead provide the coordinates of the last Combine fortification to your surviving troops. Protocol forbids our direct involvement, this is the best we can do."

"That is acceptable enough," Gordon spoke after mulling it over. He was confident that Ryan could handle the situation perfectly.

No sooner had the last syllable of his sentence left his tongue then he felt a white light surround his body. The light was so intense that Gordon had to squeeze his eyes shut, lest he overload his retina. The light continued to brighten, as it did, Gordon had the distinct feeling of the molecular bonds in his body being forced apart. A small voice echoed inside his head, "We knew you would see things our way."

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**Next chapter will be the last, just a heads up.**


	15. Infiltration

**My apologies for the rediculously ****long wait you've had to endure, but I've found my focus slipping on writing this story. Don't worry, I'm still going to finish it, but I should warn you that it may take a while. **

* * *

The next time Gordon opened his eyes, he found himself with the gray confines of a Combine structure. From his position on, what Gordon quickly assumed to be some sort of platform, he could see a battalion's worth of synth creatures below. Most of them were species that Gordon had never seen before, though he could easily identify a group of Hunters and Striders from the mass of life-forms.

A spike of adrenaline coursed through his system at the sight, his hands instinctively moving to the pulse-rifle still slung across his shoulders. He checked himself just as his hand wrapped around the weapon's pistol grip, he had to keep it quiet for as long as possible.

Taking a moment to glance around, Gordon saw little more than a narrow dimly light hallway behind him before he could hear the distinctive echo of combat boots slapping against concrete. Gordon quickly checked the platform, looking for a place to hide. A sense of fear rippled inside Gordon when his initial search failed him. He didn't want to expose himself this early; otherwise he'd have the installation's entire garrison on alert while he tried to complete his objective. The sound of gear slapping against armour let Gordon know that time was running out.

Gordon did the first thing that came to mind, he moved towards the platform, swung his legs over the side railing and dropped. He'd fallen no more than a metre when his fingers grazed a support beam. Gordon grasped the object with all his strength. His body jerked at the sudden halt, sending a shockwave through his nerves.

No sooner had Gordon stopped moving than a modulated voice spoke from right above Gordon. _"This is Unit 332, responding to teleportation flux, area secure."_

"_Acknowledged, return to previous location."_

"_Order confirmed." _

Gordon waited until he heard the shuffling of boots before making his move. In a series of swift, precise motions, Gordon pulled himself up so that his hands were on the railing; from there he leaned forward and grabbed the strange Combine soldier before putting all of his weight with him as he bent down. The result was that the enemy trooper was thrown into the mass of synth life-forms some four kilometres below.

With his feet planted back on concrete, Gordon sprinted away from the platform, his legs carrying him forward as fast as they could. He had no idea where he was, but he felt it logical to assume he was somewhere on the Combine's homeworld; or rather, the Advisor's homeworld.

Gordon slowed his pace until he was ghost walking. He carefully moved his feet so that his heel lightly touched the ground, from there he rotated his foot down until his toes touched the ground. This stealthy walk slowed Gordon's progress considerably but he knew it would be better than charging into an area he knew absolutely nothing about.

Five minutes later and Gordon had exited the hallway and had stepped into an immense chasm containing, what Gordon guessed, to be the Combine power generator. A constant influx of energy spheres traversed through a network of shield tubes. A cluster of control panels were situated in the centre of the room, constant power level readouts scrolled across the displays.

Gordon took a moment to sweep the area for guards, he made a point of searching every adjoining hallway before lowering his weapon. Not being one to waste time, Gordon quickly made his way toward the power readout consoles. Schematics were shown on the consoles, along with a power readout gauge. Since the Viscount had mentioned some type of disruptor field around the G-Man's location, Gordon felt it logical to assume that the area with the most power would be where the G-Man could be found. Or, failing that, he would be lead to the structure's reactor. Either way, Gordon would be able to accomplish his objective.

A quick minute of searching passed before Gordon found the area with the largest power level indication. From Gordon's perspective, the power levels here would be enough to power every city, on Earth itself, for a few millennia.

Ignoring the distraction, he turned back to try and memorize the route. The area was located in the centre of the Combine structure. It was approximately three levels down from where he was currently standing. Unlike the small pods that transported slaves and soldiers around the Citadel in City Seventeen, this enormous structure featured a series of sending and receiving nodes that provided instantaneous teleportation to each level of the complex.

Finding the closest relative to his position, Gordon brought his pulse-rifle into the port arms position. With his left hand holding the hand-guards of the rifle and his right hand wrapped around the pistol grip, he set off moving to his destination.

* * *

Ryan trudged back to the lab, his squad in step behind him. Ryan had no idea what it was he'd witnessed back at sector three, Gordon just….vanished. With the scientist's disappearance, the young soldier's fighting spirit was starting to break down. Seeing all the destruction that had been brought o Carsile's doorstep, Ryan found it hard to remember that barley two days ago the Combine were in hiding. They had struck a vicious blow when the Resistance assumed them to be at their weakest, the damage caused was unbelievable.

Carsile itself was a wreck; the once formidable and imposing steel wall had been reduced to shreds. Several blocks of residences were now piles of metal and rock, not to mention the command bunker, which looked as though a small plane had crashed into it. In addition to that, the Resistance had lost about half of their combat forces. Only about one hundred and fifty quick response troops remained out of a unit that once contained 400, two hundred out of 300 soldiers on garrison duty survived, and Ryan's own company had been reduced from 100 to 45.

_So many lost, and for what_? Ryan thought to himself, his combat boots thudding against the concrete floors inside Carsile's lab. The blast door entrance closed once Ryan and his team boarded the elevator and punched the button to descend.

The lift came to a halt, some five minutes later, allowing the weary occupants to disembark. Ryan didn't really know what to do now, he'd like nothing more than to track down the remaining Combine, but their last base had stayed hidden for the last three years despite Resistance attempts to uncover its location. Quickly deciding that he didn't want to be questioned about Gordon by Alyx, who he knew was near Kate's lifeless body. Ryan moved out of the makeshift medical bay and wandered aimlessly through the lab.

His drifting led him to the weapon testing centre, where several prototypes lay ready for testing. Ryan moved over to the storage lockers and grabbed extra magazines and pulse bombs for his AR2. He stuffed the ammunition into his Tac-vest and sat down on the ground. He layed his rifle down in front of him and, deciding he needed a distraction, stripped the weapon for cleaning. Emotions started to well up inside Ryan but the young soldier suppressed them, he couldn't afford to be distracted right now. Gordon's actions had proven how disastrous it could be.

Ryan was so focused on cleaning his rifle that he didn't notice the displays on the computer monitors shifting from their normal blue background to a map of the area, Ryan snapped his head up, however, when he caught a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision. As soon as he did, he noticed that the enormous monitor on the far left was displaying a large block of text.

LOCATION OF COMBINE…….

After a five second pause, the image shifted until it was showing a highlighted section of map with a string of coordinates below it.

A spike of adrenaline coursed through his veins at the image. The designated location was well known to Ryan; Barney had taken his team there often for training exercises. Even though the image was staring him right in the face, Ryan could hardly believe his eyes. The Combine were in the remnants of City Seventeen.

* * *

Gordon came to a stop outside of what was clearly the Citadel's reactor. On the way, Gordon had been forced to stay in the shadows and avoid the strange aliens he'd seen lurking around the Citadel. He'd initially assumed them to be a type of Combine soldier but after getting into a firefight with two of them; it was clear that that wasn't the case. The aliens had no electronic voices, and they seemed to retain complete control of their minds.

The scientist shook off the thought of his near-fatal mistake and glanced around the corner into the lowest level of the reactor room. What he saw made him curse; more of the strange aliens were guarding the reactor. The seven foot tall monstrosities were completely encased in elaborate black armour, the only thing left exposed were the creature's orange eyes.

Gordon pointed his pulse-rifle at the ground and moved it towards his side as he moved into the reactor. His slow walking pace didn't go unnoticed by the alien guards. The first one to spot the intruder warned his companions and issued a war-cry, rifle quickly firing at Gordon. Green projectiles lanced out from the enemies rifle and headed straight for Gordon, but a quick roll ensured that the scientist was out of harms way.

A trio of pulse rounds fired from Gordon's now shouldered rifle, all three of the rounds hit their intended mark. But the impact didn't even faze the alien. The black armoured figure used Gordon's surprise to its advantage, firing off two green projectiles toward Gordon's right arm.

Gordon was so surprised at the alien's ferocity that by the time he noticed the incoming fire, he couldn't possibly avoid it. The two blasts struck Gordon at the elbow, making him drop his rifle and roar in pain. The alien was quick to pickup Gordon's fallen weapon and drag the wounded scientist to the centre of the reactor.

Even though his vision was blurry and becoming out of focus with every passing second, the scientist could still see the pale face he'd seen to many times in his life. It was a face that haunted his dreams, the face belonging to a being who had interfered in his life more times than he could recall. Gordon growled in anger and reached for the captured knife he had hidden in his ankle but found that he didn't have the strength.

A mock scolding reached Gordon's ears as he closed his eyes, "Welcome….it has been far too long….Mister Freeman."

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**I canse you didn't read the text at the beginning, I will start by saying that this is abosultey NOT the last chapter. I wanted to make that into a 5,000 word masterpiece but I found myself scratching along making this chapter as long as it was. So, as much as I hate to say it, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for one more chapter before this story is finished. ****As I mentioned above, my interest in Half-Life isn't burning as strongly as it used to. While I will still be working on this, it may very likley be a two to three month wait, especially with my military training resuming after the break. **

*** In the meantime, feel free to check out the awesome Star Wars fanfic I've started making. Its based off the Knighs of the Old Republic games but it takes place during the Mandalorian Wars.** **That is where my interest lies right now, and as usual I feel compelled to write untill the fire wears off, so to speak.**


	16. Total Control

**I know, I know. I reallly am sorry for the ridiculously long wait you guys have had to endure. I hope this is worth it, content wise. Good news is that I achieved my 5,000 word goal, with just a bit extra to boot.**

**Enjoy, and feel free to tell me if it was worth the wait or not.**

* * *

Ryan and forty-five other rebels stood on a hill high above their target. The ruins of City Seventeen were just as desolate as ever; the once sprawling urban landscape was now a pile of caved in buildings and twisted metal. This place had been a training area for Ryan and the others during the last few days of their training. Barney had insisted on conducting exercises to prepare them for urban combat, he always covered every angle.

With his initial sweep of the terrain done, Ryan flipped on his radio. "Alpha to all units: radio check."

"Bravo One hears you loud and clear Alpha," Alyx reported. The despair she'd had in her voice after Barney had informed her about Gordon's disappearance had been replaced with a cold fury that made Ryan cringe a little every time he heard it. Alyx was waiting on the west side of the ruins, at a distance just short of three hundred metres away from Ryan.

"This is Sabre: loud and clear," Barney said. He had command of what remained of Carsile's elite force and was stationed to the east of the ruined metropolis, just two hundred metres from Ryan's team. The veteran resistance fighter had turned mission command over to Ryan due to the few injures that limited his mobility. Barney had privately conveyed to Ryan that he didn't feel Alyx could handle the responsibility of command with her family so torn apart.

Ryan stopped his line of thinking; he couldn't afford to think about Kate or Gordon, not if he wanted to keep himself together and bring the Resistance a complete victory that was long overdue. A deep breath escaped the young soldier as he tried to steady himself. As he did before every assignment, he went over the mission specifics one more time.

Sabre would move in first, storming the city as quickly and quietly as they could. Bravo would in next, they were to spread out with orders to search and secure every part of the desolate city on their side. Ryan would lead his platoon in next, performing the same action as Bravo. They still didn't know if they had the right coordinates or not, so they weren't taking any chances. If this was an ambush, the Combine would find themselves caught up in their own web.

Ryan looked back at what remained of his team. Their stern faces, tense stances, and primed weapons let him know that they had never been committed. Ryan knew he couldn't delay the operation any longer, "Alpha to Sabre: Green light. I say again, green light, search and destroy."

"Transmission confirmed, Sabre moving out," Barney said, answering the command before cutting the channel.

Ryan trained the scope of his weapon, one of the snipe rifles Gordon had created, on Sabre Team as they moved in to the objective. The quick response forces had split into six man squads and were spreading out to close in like a wave.

Twenty seconds passed before Alyx and her squad stormed in. Ryan panned his weapon around, switching the magnification up to five times to try and identify any sort of threat. Aside from friendly soldiers moving around, there was nothing to see. The young soldier counted to thirty while he continued his survey. As soon as he reached thirty he placed his weapon at his side and turned back to his squad, "Alpha Team close in!"

* * *

Gordon could feel himself slipping unconscious, as soon as his eyelids closed he felt himself slipping into a void. The words of the G-Man, however, were enough to give the wayward scientist the strength to force himself back to reality. Not wanting to give away the fact that he was still conscious, Gordon slowly cracked open his right eye. Through the faint bluish glow of the reactor, the scientist could see the armoured black boot of one of the alien soldiers. He didn't believe he could open any more of his eyelid without giving away the fact that he was still conscious. Luckily for him he didn't have to do that to know where the rest of the alien's body would be. The positioning of the alien's feet let the scientist know that the creature was standing above him.

With a speed akin to a sloth, Gordon reached for the captured knife he'd sheathed in his left boot. It took an agonizingly long time, but his gloved hand eventually enclosed around the weapon's handle. Gordon knew this was a long shot, but it was one he had to take. He wouldn't let his daughter down, not again.

Moving with a speed, Gordon couldn't scarcely believe he possessed, he drew the serrated blade from its holster and stood up. Without thinking, without even checking to see if his guess had been correct, Gordon stabbed in a downward motion with a roar of both frustration and pain. Just as the reluctant soldier predicted, the blade pierced through the chest armour of an alien, leaving the creature to warble in a strange dialect as it reeled back in pain. Without waiting for the alien to recover, Gordon pulled the knife out and reached up to slash the creature in the head.

The force behind Gordon's strike sent the alien off the reactor platform. Just before the creature left Gordon's reach, the injured scientist's sharp reflexes allowed him to rip the alien's rifle right out of its grasp. Gordon quickly rolled behind a nearby support column just as a hail of enemy fire impacted into the place he'd stood only a second before. _Safe to say they've recovered from my surprise attack_, Gordon thought as he quickly examined his captured rifle.

The weapon had a large shaped black frame, with a barrel that looked wide enough to fit two grenades inside. A large stock, connected to the barrel, looked as though its entire purpose was for recoil reduction. Puzzlement gripped Gordon as he realized that there was no trigger. There was a trigger guard, but the item in question was non-existent.

Bursts of plasma fire descending on his position brought Gordon back to the problem at hand. If he was going to destroy the reactor, he couldn't sit here and worry about a missing trigger. _If the weapon doesn't work, I'll use my damn knife_, Gordon thought to himself while he shouldered his captured rifle. He quickly counted to three, then sprinted out from cover and back onto the walkway. One of the aliens gave a sharp war-cry at the scientist's appearance, most likely an alert to the others. Gordon quickly snapped up his rifle and squeezed the palm of his hand back against the trigger guard, while he continued to charge ahead. A three round plasma burst spat from the rifle's muzzle, creating a recoil that left Gordon wincing. As bad as the backlash was to Gordon, however, the rounds were even more devastating to their target. The plasma impacted dead centre into the alien, the close grouping of the plasma quickly melted through his armour and tore into the vulnerable flesh underneath, cauterizing enough organs to leave the target dead.

Gordon never once broke his stride as he darted to an elevator he'd seen during his initial survey of the reactor. A short twenty metre sprint later and he was on the elevator at the end of the walkway, enemy plasma fire still targeting his position. The scientist quickly keyed for the elevator to ascend, something it did instantly. The aliens continued firing as they quickly moved in an attempt to intercept Gordon, but their weapons couldn't get past the elevator's security field.

As soon as the elevator came to a halt and the security field had deactivated, Gordon started sprinting. The Black Mesa veteran moved to a the a cluster of consoles at the centre of the level. Gordon, however, didn't take more than a few steps before he felt an armoured forearm drive into his back. The force of the impact was more than sufficient to bring Gordon careening into the walkway. He could feel a sickening crunch as his body hit the ground, a noise that was quickly followed by the feeling of crimson blood cascading down his face. The sound of a weapon being primed let Gordon know that one of the creatues had ambushed him.

A deep mewling laughter echoed across the reactor room, it was one of the most unpleasant noises to ever make contact with his ears. Before the scientist could blink, he was yanked up onto his feet, to find himself face to face with the G-Man.

* * *

Ryan's feet crunched against the twisted metal scraps littering what was left of City Seventeen. The young soldier had head what had happened from his parents, how Gordon Freeman had been the one to trigger an overload in the Citadel's reactor, and how the structure's explosion had created a giant shockwave that had laid waste to the entire metropolis. While it was true that the majority of the city was in ruins, not all of it was. A few buildings still stood standing, though only half of the structures remained. Even the Citadel itself wasn't a complete ruin; a few layers of metal remained grouped together at the base to form a sort of slanted triangle.

Alpha Teams was now in the centre of the ruins, every sweep had come up negative. If there were Combine here, they'd yet to show themselves.

"I don't believe this," Jason whispered from Ryan's right. "The Combine haven't so much as made a radio transmission. I even asked them to _please_ come out, magic word my ass."

Ryan couldn't help but grin at that and, as he looked around, he could see that many of the couldn't help it either. Jason always knew how to lighten the mood. Still, they had a mission to complete, and they couldn't afford to me distracted. Opening a COM channel Ryan said, "Alpha to all units: sit-rep."

"Bravo reporting," Alyx quickly responded, "no enemy activity."

"This is Sabre, sector clear," Barney spoke after a short pause.

"Set-up a 360 degree perimeter," Ryan paused to consult the tactical map overlayed on his helmet HUD. "Reference grid three-four-two mark two-six-four."

"Roger, setting up perimeter." Bravo responded.

"Acknowledged Alpha, we're already moving."

Ryan cut the channel after Sabre's broadcast and consulted his map one more time. The reference point he'd given was just fifty metres away from where his squad was currently located, it was where the Combine were supposed to be located. Now that they'd confirmed that there was no ambush waiting to be sprung, the next step was to create a fall-back position in case something went wrong with their assault, or in case reinforcement Combine showed up. Ryan didn't think either was very likely, but if the young soldiers had learned anything from Barney, it was that it was always wise to have a contingency plan.

"Alright," Ryan said out loud, "Jason, Taylor, get those sensors in place. The rest of you come with me."

Jason and Taylor scrambled to fulfill their orders, while the rest of the platoon split up into their usual fire teams and followed Ryan. Alpha Team covered the fifty-metre distance in a slow seven minute pace. Until the resistance could confirm beyond a doubt that the Combine weren't here, Ryan was being as cautious as he could.

"Split up into squads, if the Combine are here I want them found. Move out!"

This operation was starting to look more pointless with every passing minute. _There's no way the Combine could set-up here without being detected_, Ryan thought as he began to move sift through the debris. Ryan stopped mid-action, his own words echoing in his mind. Of course if the Combine couldn't hide on the surface, then logically they'd try to do it underground. That would explain why the Antlions had never made an appearance during Barney's exercises, the Combine would've cleared them out.

Elated by his personal revelation, Ryan quickly crossed to the exact coordinates that had been mysteriously enclosed to the Resistance. From all appearances, the ground looked just like the rest of the ruins, but Ryan wasn't giving up yet. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, the soldier dropped to the ground and started clearing away debris. It took an agonizing few minutes, but the young commander was rewarded with the discovery of a small hatchway. Ryan recalled his squadmates then flipped on his radio, "Alpha to all units: reform at reference point. Say again, reform at reference point!"

It took fifteen minutes for Bravo and Sabre to link up with Ryan, by then Alpha Team was practically shaking with excitement. Barney and his team of veterans visibly relaxed when they saw Ryan grinning from ear to ear. "I take it you found something Commander," Barney said with a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes sir, "Ryan said as he motioned for Barney to come closer. When his old training officer was within five metres, Ryan moved to the side and let Barney get a look the hatchway.

"Excellent work," Barney said as he bent over to examine the hatch.

Five minutes later, the Resistance assault force waited to move in to possible enemy territory. A small electronic board had been placed on top of the hatch, a lattice work of buttons etched across it. Since its code was unknown, Barney had opted for slicing into the system in order to avoid detection for as long as possible. Alyx, who ahd volunteered for such a task, had used her EMP tool to disable the hatch's locking mechanism and had opened the door in a matter of seconds.

Barney had decided to split up the assault team's strength. A hundred soldiers would be the first assault wave, with another fifty on standby. The remaining two hundred soldiers were to establish a new perimeter around the entire ruins of City Seventeen. This was to be the last battle, if the Combine had any escape routes planned they'd find themselves dead as soon as they appeared. All of them were to be wiped out.

As soon as all the perimeter guards reported in, Ryan, Barney and Alyx began their descent into the strange area below. The ladder that led into the dimly-lit area below was icy cold to the touch, it sent shivers up Ryan's spine as he began to climb down. Every five rungs, Ryan would unsling his prototype rifle and sweep the weapon below to ensure that the area was clear.

It took two minutes before the young soldier's feet made contact with a metallic surface. Ryan activated his tac-light and shouldered his weapon as he surveyed the area. Pinpricks of light highlighted the layering of traditional Combine gray metal, giving the cavern a cold, unforgiving feeling. The cavern itself was wide enough for three people to comfortably fit side by side, something that Ryan noticed not by estimation but by the fact that Alyx and Barney were now at his side.

Ryan cautiously moved forward in a crouching position, his weapon still in his shoulder with his eyes positioned just above the weapon's scope. He didn't take more than twenty steps, however, before a familiar modulated voice echoed from further ahead in the cavern.

"_Unit Five-Five-Six performing security sweep of sector three."_

The sound of electronic transmission was replaced with the slight shuffling of heavy gear. Ryan's eyes widened slightly in surprise, he hadn't expected an engagement at this point. There was no way they could stealthily eliminate the guard with resistance fighters continually descending into the cavern. And, even if they could, the Combine guard had just checked in his location. His failure to report in later would no doubt signal an investigation by a squad of Combine. Either way, this stealth insertion was about to become a firefight.

Ryan took aim at the small door ahead; the object separated the entrance from the rest of the base. As soon as it slid open to reveal the gray armour of a Combine soldier, Ryan squeezed off a round. The bullet struck the soldier in the middle of his goggle eyed helmet, leaving him dead before he had a chance to do anything more than flinch in surprise.

Silencers had yet to be placed on Resistance weapons, so the resulting sound was exceedingly loud within the confines of the cavern. Loud enough, in fact, to trigger Combine radio chatter.

_"Unit Five-Five-Six, shot was heard within your sector. Update requested."_

Ryan slung his sniper rifle back on his back and pulled out two pistols. The ex-trainee edged the others forward with an up and down arm motion. Now was the time for the Resistance to avenge their dead comrades.

* * *

Gordon blinked to try and clear his distorted vision. Not that he had any desire to see the G-Man's face in focus. He did, however, need his vision back in clarity if he was going to find a way out of his current situation. The feeling of heavily muscled arms holdings his body upright let the scientist know that the alien who'd almost knocked him out was still behind him. A quick glance up ahead revealed the presence of two more aliens, their rifles trained on Gordon, waiting for a reason to fire.

"Such a futile gesture you have…performed, Doctor Freeman," The G-Man said with a mocking smile.

"Why…," Gordon could barley annunciate the word.

"Why, Mr. Freeman? It is because of you that I was incarcerated, stripped of my power. What better way to get revenge than to destroy....all you hold dear."

The G-Man's words washed over Gordon and for the first time the scientist understood everything that had happened to him the past couple of days. "You," Gordon shouted with barley restrained fury, "You targeted my family!"

The blue suited entity adopted a self-congratulating expression, "Oh yes, I did. My only....regret is that your wife evaded the Combine. She may have been an…investment, but….just like others….their value has…a tendency to….drop. Still, I can see that your daughter's death has left you…grief-stricken. While I do regret not being able to see your broken spirit from watching your wife die, I have the next best thing….you."

"What are you going to do….kill me," Gordon asked, blood beginning to pour from his mouth.

"No, Mr. Freeman, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to destroy you....much like you did me." The G-Man raised his hand above his head and looked once more at Gordon, "Goodbye.....Doctor Freeman."

Whatever the G-Man was about to do, it was interrupted by an ear-piercing shriek. Gordon looked around for the source of the noise, but realized that it was coming from within his own mind.

A touch of annoyance sprouted across the G-Man's face as he stopped mid-motion. "I take it there is a reason for this interruption, Alpha?"

Gordon puzzlement at the G-Man's query turned to awe when he saw an enormous Advisor appear from the bottom of the reactor, its bulbous form taking up a lot of space.

"More than you'll ever know," The Alpha stated into a telepathic link, "I have been wary of your deceptions, and now that I have confirmation—,"

"Take care Alpha," The G-Man cut the advisor off abruptly, "That next sentence might very well be your last."

"Your plans are not as mysterious as you might believe," The Alpha continued, oblivious to the warning, "Clearly; you intend to replace our vast empire with these _creatures_."

"Your ignorance—,"

"I will not let you destroy this empire, entity. We are not as weak as you seem to think."

Another ear-shattering wail echoed inside Gordon's head, though the alien holding him seemed unaffected by the ordeal. Dozens of more advisors floated up from the bottom of the reactor chamber, their slug bodies shaking with an unknown emotion. To Gordon's surprise, the G-Man had a smug grin on his face. "Is this supposed to threaten me Alpha? You can't possibly expect to kill those under my protection."

"We shall see," The Alpha said as the Citadel's Combine garrison began marching onto the reactor walkways.

The Alpha's statement was met with the death of five Combine forces at the hands of one of the black-armoured aliens. The entire movement was executed with utter stealth and precision, so much so that it made Gordon shiver. The G-Man's smug grin only grew as he noticed the strike, "Indeed….we shall."

With a final shriek, the advisors moved toward their targets. The alien holding Gordon released his hold and jumped to the walkway below to assist his comrades. Somehow, the dazed scientist was able to hold himself upright. Gordon unsheathed the knife he'd put back in his boot and made his way back to the elevator when he noticed that the G-Man's attention was drawn elsewhere.

* * *

"Head for cover!" Ryan's order was followed by the thunderous detonation of a Combine grenade. Two rebels, slow to react, had been thrown by the grenade's blast. Their screams, however, were more of surprise than pain. Alpha Team had split from the main body not long after the death of the Combine guard at the entrance hatch. The team was now stuck in what Ryan guessed to be the southern part of the fortification, thought it was impossible to know for certain with a skewed sense of direction.

Ryan and Jason were crouched behind a hallway corner, with enemy pulse capsules striking the fortified cavern walls. Another rebel tried to make a push through the hallway, he moved forward in a crouched position with his pulse rifle firing rampantly. Despite Ryan's protest for the soldier to fall back, he continued a hasty advance. A sustained burst from a Combine soldier struck the resistance fighter in the chest, leaving him to fall to the ground, dead.

Alpha Team's commander gritted his teeth in rage at the kill. They'd suffered ten casualties in this skirmish alone, six of which were KIAs. Ryan tapped Jason's shoulder to get his attention. When Ryan's acting second in command glanced back, Alpha Team leader made a pushing motion with hand toward the corridor. Jason raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but his expression turned to one of understanding when Ryan mouth words "low" and "high."

Ryan held up three fingers and waited. When he counted to three in his head, the young soldier sidestepped out in the kneeling position, with Jason quickly moving out to fire above his commanding officer's right shoulder. The entire movement was performed with the kind of perfection associated with countless repetitions. Ryan and Jason quickly opened fire, Jason with his pulse rifle and Ryan with the prototype sniper rifle. Jason's rampant firing was mainly to dissuade any Combine from returning fire at the two while Ryan picked off enemy soldiers one by one.

It took two minutes before the hallway was sufficiently pacified for the rest of Alpha Team to move in. Ryan slung his sniper rifle, once again, and pulled out his two pistols as he looked at the rest of his team. They looked to be in desperate need of a morale boost. "The Combine must be destroyed, not just for the Resistance," The commander shouted back at his team, "But in the name of all those who have fallen! Forward!"

The rebels roared their approval and charged onward, their desire for vengeance and victory rekindled at Ryan's words.

* * *

Gordon's tried to stick to the shadows as he edged his way across the vast expanse of walkway back on the first level. The advisors had quickly discovered that their telekinesis couldn't affect the black armoured aliens. Whether that was due to the alien's technology or the G-Man's influence Gordon couldn't be sure, though he suspected the latter was the most probable.

Despite the fact that the strange black-armoured aliens were outnumbered by a four to one margin they were standing their ground exceptionally well. Plasma projectiles struck down the local Combine garrison before they could so much as raise their weapons. The population of Advisors had been reduced from a couple dozen to a mere handful in the first few minutes alone. The Alpha advisor was the only factor that could tip the battle back in favour of the Combine, something the armoured aliens were intent on preventing.

While the two parties continued their senseless struggle, Gordon edged closer and closer to the main cluster of consoles at the centre of the chamber. When the scientist was within twenty metres, however, one of the aliens seemed to materialize out of the shadows near the consoles. Gordon's first hope was that the creature was attempting to ambush approaching Combine forces, but that hope quickly subsided when the scientist's vibrant green eyes locked with sickly orange.

The creature tossed aside its rifle and unsheathed a curved shaped sword that crackled with intense blue energy. The alien warbled a battle-cry in its strange dialect as it charged Gordon. Acting on instinct, Gordon shouldered his captured rifle nad charged with a roar of his own. The scientist fired of a series of automatic bursts at the armoured behemoth. The discharged projectiles impacted into the alien's armour, but the creature didn't even break stride.

Just as the alien swung its blade at Gordon's head, the scientist made a forward roll, leaving the energy weapon to slice through nothing but air. As Gordon was rolling forward he pulled his stolen knife from his boot and flung the instrument back in the direction of his adversary. The blade pierced the target right in the centre of mass, while it was enough to break through the plasma-riddled armour, it didn't inflict much damage. Before the alien could seek revenge for the strike, the Black Mesa veteran swung himself a hundred and eighty degrees and fired the weapon on full automatic until his shoulder couldn't take any more of the recoil.

The creature took two more steps toward Gordon, fury blazing in his orange eyes. The alien never had the chance to exact vengeance, however; it collapsed in a puddle of its own blue gore. Thankful for the alien's death, Gordon discarded his rifle and moved towards the main console. In the twelve years since the destruction of the Borealis, Gordon had taken lessons from Alyx on how to slice Combine systems. It only took a handful of seconds for Gordon to get past the security code. From there, it was a simple matter of cutting power to all systems interlinked with the G-Man's dispersion field.

Just in case the aliens had knowledge of Combine systems, Gordon severed the main consoles link to the rest of the Citadel. The scientist made his way back the way he came, intent on seeking refuge from the brewing conflict when he was again clubbed to the ground by one of the strange aliens. Knowing that his mission was complete, Gordon didn't even try to defend himself from whatever was coming.

The reluctant soldier was turned so that he was lying on his back. Gordon wasn't at all surprised to see an alien with a curved energy weapon poised for the kill. A loud roar erupted from the creature as it brought the weapon down. White light flooded Gordon's vision as the blade struck home.

* * *

The last Combine soldiers were making a final stand; the Resistance had confirmed control on ninety-five percent of the base. It was time to finish it.

"Wipe them out," Ryan cried as he and four others made a hard push to the last six Combine soldiers. Despite the elation of the near-victory, Ryan's squad was still treating this as seriously as they had when it started. 'Victory is by no means certain,' The words of wisdom imparted to Alpha Team by Barney were something they had taken to heart.

The greatest battle the Resistance had ever fought ended with two sniper shots, a grenade, and a burst of automatic pulse fire. When the last electronic scream reverberated through the caverns, every rebel cheered as loud as they could. The sheer amount of sound waves seemed to put the fortified cavern on the verge of a cave-in.

The Resistance arrived at Eagle Point in the best mood they'd ever been in. Alpha Team, descended with Barney and Alyx down to the lab. Barney and Alyx's mood seemed to reflect the descent of the elevator as it moved deeper and deeper into the underground area below. By the time the lift came to a stop, Alyx looked as depressed as she had before, and Barney looked as if his untreated injuries from Fort Hayes were starting to catch up with him.

Despite the pain and sense of loss Ryan felt from within the lab, he couldn't help but let loose the one hopeful thing that had just occurred. The young soldier moved off the lift and shouted, "The Combine has been destroyed, these lands are ours once more!"

Another round of foundation-shaking cheers erupted from everyone; even some of the injured managed to join in. It took a few minutes but the cheers finally subsided, though the happiness and mirth still remained. If it were possible, Ryan's spirits lifted even higher when he heard Alyx shouted, "Kate! Oh my god, Kate's alive!"

The acting commander for Alpha Team sprinted over to where Kate's corpse used to be to find the young girl now sitting up and being embraced by her mother. When Alyx finally let go of her daughter, with a lone tear in her eye, Ryan moved next to Kate. "Hey, Kate."

Instead of responding, the girl embraced Ryan for a few seconds before pulling back. "Hey," she finally said with a grin.

"I guess you never did give up," Ryan said with a voice that cracked as the emotions he'd taken great pains to suppress began welling up to the surface. He could feel moisture clouding his vision but he tried to hold it back.

Unfortunately for him, Kate noticed. "Are you crying Ryan?"

"No," Ryan said, his voice cracking, "Its just the humidity difference between outside and inside makes moisture build up in my eyes."

Kate's grin only grew at his terrible lie as she embraced Ryan once more.

"Commander," A veteran rebel shouted over to Barney, "Scanners just picked up an unidentified lifeform boarding the lift.

Twenty rebels responded by forming a rough U formation with weapons pointing toward the now descending elevator. Scanners only triggered an alert if a lifeform failed to input the correct code at the lab entrance, or if they accessed the lab by alternative means, which meant that the blast door would need to be compromised. Since the lab entrance was not in working order due to the Combine, an alert meant that someone had failed to check-in, or that an enemy had just gained access.

Safeties were flipped off as pulse rifles were aimed at the doorway. The rebels eased of their triggers, however, when they noticed an orange and black clad figure on the elevator. Doctor Gordon Freeman stepped out of the elevator with raised eyebrows at the pointed weapons. "What's going on? Someone paint a bulls-eye on my chest when I wasn't looking?"

A few of the veterans chuckled as they lowered their weapons and re-established the safety. Gordon didn't get very far before he was tackled to the ground by his daughter. Alyx stood beside Kate, her eyes alight with delight. Gordon tried to reciprocate the feeling of their affection as he hugged them both back.

For the Resistance, a new era had begun.

* * *

"Former slave designated number 265, the number of infractions you have committed has made a gross mockery of this infrastructure," The collective voices of the Viscount rang icy cold from the void they had transported the G-Man to. "Since execution has been proven impossible on Eldrich life-forms you will suffer the next worst fate. You will be relocated to Site B, your power will be permanently stripped and you will be under our watchful eye. As far as the rest of the universe is concerned, you never existed."

The Viscount revelled in the vibes of fear they could feel within the G-Man. They let their words sink in a moment longer before carrying out with what they had described.

The Viscount always appeared as a solid, being. Though in actual fact, they were composed of many smaller immortal life-forms. The Viscount had been the first immortals to evolve to the point where they could form as a collective. Among many benefits, tt made it that much easier for them to communicate with eachother.

"_With this matter resolved we must attest to our primary directive. The Combine Empire has been shattered far earlier than was anticipated, a new force is required to maintain galactic stability." _

"_The bipeds our agent fought at the Combine's homeworld can provide what is needed. They were meant to replace the Combine when their empire eventually degraded. These creatures have natural warrior instincts that should prove invaluable to securing a flawless transition."_

"_Agreed, for now we will watch over the universe. Balance, after all, is a precious thing."_

* * *

**So, I've been thinking about doing a third and final installment. The porblem is that I'd be taking ideas from the novel I want to make and I don't know if I want to do that.**

**Well...if I think hard enough I can work around that. But its up you, the readers, to whether or not I even think about a sequel. As far as I'm concerned I'm done with this, but if you want me to continue I've got to admit that I already have some sweet ideas.**


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